Cf)e  Cf)ristof£ester5a^, 


EZRA  HOYT  BYIMGTON 


tibmy  of  Che  Cheolosical  ^minaxy 

PRINCETON    .    NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Herbert  E.  Pickett,  Jr, 

BV^4253  .B9  1897 
Byington,  Ezra  Hoyt ,  1828- 

1901. 
The  Christ  of  yesterday ,  to- 


J 


THE    CHRIST   OF   YESTERDAY 
TO-DAY,  AND    FOREVER 


THE   CHRIST   OF  YESTERDAY 


TO-DAY,  AND   FOREVER 


%nh  <©tf)er  ^etmon^ 


BY 


EZRA   HOYT   BYINGTON,  D.D. 

AUTHOR  OF   "THE  PURITAN    IN   ENGLAND  AND  NEW   ENGLAND" 


BOSTON 
ROBERTS    BROTHERS 

1897 


>♦*■" 


Copyright,  1897, 
By  Ezra  Hoyt  Byington. 


John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 


TO 


THE   THREE   CHURCHES   WHICH   IT    HAS   BEEN 
MY   PRIVILEGE  TO    SERVE,— 

THE   OLD  SOUTH  CHURCH  IN   WINDSOR,   VT., 
THE  COLLEGE  CHURCH  IN  BRUNSWICK,  ME., 

AND   THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  MONSON,  MASS.,— 


Cftese  ^^ermons 


ARE  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED  BY  THEIR 
FRIEND   AND    FORMER    PASTOR. 


INTRODUCTION. 

These  sermons  have  done  their  work  in  the  pulpit, 
and  they  are  sent  to  the  press  in  the  hope  that  they 
may  still  be  of  service  in  a  new  form.  It  is  often 
said  that  books  of  sermons  are  not  read,  but  the 
fact  that  so  many  volumes  of  sermons  are  published 
from  year  to  year  is  an  indication  that  it  is  not  too 
late  for  the  printed  sermon  to  be  of  some  use  in  the 
world. 

I  confess  that  the  desire  to  contribute  something 
towards  guiding  the  thought  of  our  time  to  correct 
conclusions  in  respect  to  the  methods  of  preaching, 
and  in  respect  to  its  substance  also,  has  been  a  lead- 
ing motive  in  the  publication  of  this  book.  The 
preaching  of  our  day  is  different  from  that  of  the  last 
generation,  and  yet  the  difference  is  not  so  much  in 
the  substance,  as  in  the  form.  That  body  of  truth 
which  has  come  down  from  the  Apostolic  age,  and 
which  has  been  received  by  all  branches  of  the 
Church,  is  still  the  bread  of  life  for  those  who 
hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness.  But  we  have 
no  use  for  some  of  the  theories  and  speculations 
concerning  the  religion  which  Christ  taught,  which 
oricrinated  in  the  middle  a^es,  or  in  the  time  of  the 


Vlil  INTRODUCTION. 

Reformation.  The  advancement  of  natural  science, 
and  the  progress  that  has  been  made  during  this 
century  towards  the  mastery  of  nature,  with  the 
practical  spirit  and  tendencies  of  the  age,  require 
new  methods  of  presenting  religious  truth  in  the 
pulpit. 

In  the  first  place,  the  preaching  for  the  twentieth 
century  will  need  to  deepen  the  sense  of  personal  free- 
dom and  responsibility .  Religion  assumes  the  freedom 
of  the  will.  If  free-will  be  denied,  there  can  be  no 
such  thing  as  duty,  or  the  sense  of  responsibility. 
The  cross  of  Christ  is  fooHshness  to  those  who  do 
not  have  a  sense  of  sin,  and  no  one  feels  that  he 
is  a  sinner  until  he  realizes  that  the  evil  deeds 
are  his  own  acts.  The  psychological  problem  under- 
lies the  problems  of  theology.  Our  popular  litera- 
ture is  saturated  with  the  spirit  of  fatalism.  The 
tendency  is  to  explain  the  whole  life  of  man  as 
the  result  of  heredity,  and  environment.  "'  Man 
lives,"  says  Professor  Tyndall,  ""  in  a  realm  of  physical 
and  moral  necessity."  If  this  be  true,  it  follows  that 
he  is  not  responsible  for  his  actions.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  extreme  Calvinism  of  the  early  Puritan 
divines  cut  up  by  the  roots  the  sense  of  responsibility. 
It  is  singular  that  the  same  result  should  have  been 
secured  by  the  scientific  Agnosticism  of  modern  times. 
It  is  the  most  difficult  problem  for  the  preacher  of 
to-day  to  counteract  this  tendency.  It  is  not  enough 
that  the  laws  of  the  land  and  the  laws  of  God  assume 
that  we  are  responsible  for  our  actions.     The  wise 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

preacher  will  appeal  to  the  consciousness  of  every 
sane  man  as  the  conclusive  evidence  of  the  fact  of 
responsibility.  He  will  find  a  rich  field  for  study, 
and  for  use  in  his  public  ministrations,  in  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Master,  in  the  conversations,  and  para- 
bles, and  discourses  which  show,  in  such  simple  and 
conclusive  ways,  that  the  Hfe  of  man  is  a  life  of  lib- 
erty ;  that  when  he  does  evil  it  is  because  he  loves 
the  evil,  and  chooses  to  follow  it ;  and  that  when  he 
does  well  it  is  because  he  chooses  to  obey  the  voice 
of  God  speaking  in  the  secret  places  of  his  soul,  and 
calling  him  to  the  better  way.  He  will  find  that  our 
Lord  constantly  assumed  the  fact  of  human  freedom, 
as  the  ground  of  responsibility.  He  said,  **  if  any 
man  thirst  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink ;  "  and 
He  also  said,  *'ye  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye 
might  have  life."  He  will  also  find  that  the  Master 
recognized  the  weakness  and  infirmity  of  the  will, 
and  that  He  was  always  reminding  His  disciples  of 
the  divine  help  that  was  within  reach  of  their  prayers, 
—  the  help  of  a  Friend  unseen,  the  Holy  Comforter, 
who  should  abide  with  them  forever. 

At  the  same  time,  the  preaching  for  this  generation 
will  need  to  set  forth  the  gospel :  the  glad  tidings  of 
peace,  and  pardon,  and  eternal  life.  Never  have  the 
masses  of  men  needed  more  than  now  the  invitation  of 
the  Christ :  '*  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  It  is  of  little 
real  use  to  preach  social  theories,  or  ethical  theories, 
or  theories  of  religion.     The  multitudes  that  gather 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

about  Dwight  L.  Moody,  wherever  he  goes,  on  either 
side  of  the  sea,  and  that  used  to  hsten  to  Phillips 
Brooks,  cannot  be  satisfied  with  mere  naturalism. 
They  crave  a  religion  that  is  supernatural  in  its 
origin.  They  want  a  divine  Person  to  give  authority 
to  the  message  :  —  one  who  is  the  same  yesterday,  and 
to-day,  and  forever ;  —  one  who  is  able  to  save  to  the 
uttermost  those  that  draw  near  unto  God  through 
Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
them.  People  are  not  drawn  to  religious  teachers  now 
on  account  of  their  traditional  beliefs.  They  come 
because  they  have  tried  the  doctrines  of  men,  and 
have  found  the  need  of  a  religion  that  is  above  nature. 
They  want  a  Teacher  who  can  speak  as  one  having 
authority,  and  not  as  their  scribes. 

The  preaching  for  our  times  must  also  be  adapted 
to  relieve  the  difficulties  of  those  who  are  oppressed  by 
honest  doubt.  The  dogmatism  of  the  older  pulpit 
has  been  met  by  the  dogmatism  of  the  men  of 
science,  and  the  beliefs  of  a  great  many  people 
have  been  unsettled.  It  was  the  purpose  of  Christ 
in  His  preaching  to  lead  men  to  realize  their  spirit- 
ual wants,  in  order  that  they  might  come  to  Him 
for  the  water  of  life.  He  taught  that  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  not  an  outward  thing.  The  kingdom  of 
God  is  within  you,  and  among  you,  —  that  is,  it 
is  spiritual.  It  has  for  its  special  work  to  bring  us 
into  sympathy  with  God.  No  one  who  is  without 
this  spiritual  indwelling  can  know  of  the  doctrine. 
Those  who  are  feeling  after  God,  in  our  time,  need 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

to  be  guided  with  sympathy,  and  a  broad  intelH- 
gence,  through  the  mists  of  unbeHef,  until  they  find 
Him  who  can  satisfy  their  wants.  They  need  to  be 
taught  the  sweet  reasonableness  of  the  gospel,  as 
well  as  its  divine  origin,  that  they  may  magnify  the 
love  and  grace  of  God. 

EZRA   HOYT   BYINGTON. 

Franklin  Street,  Newton,  Mass. 
November  i,  1897. 


CONTENTS. 


Sermon  Page 

I.   The  Christ  OF  Yesterday,  To-Day,  AND  Forever         3 

"Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for- 
ever."—  Hebrews  xiii.  8. 

II.   The  Future  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  .     .       21 

"  The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation : 
neither  shall  they  say,  Lo  here !  or,  lo  there  !  for,  behold, 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you."  —  St.  Luke  xvii. 
20-21. 

III.  Love  to   Christ  the  True  Motive  in  the 

Christian  Life 43 

"  For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us."  —  2  Cor- 
inthians V.  14. 

IV.  Christ  the  Man  of  Sorrows 59 

"A  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief."  — 
Isaiah  liii.  3. 

V.   Christ  our  Lord  and  King 75 

"  On  his  head  are  many  crowns."  —  Revelation 
xix.  12. 

VI.   Christ  the  Positive  Teacher 91 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  ended  these  words, 
the  multitudes  were  astonished  at  his  teaching :  for  he 
taught  them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as  their 
scribes."  —  St.  Matthew^  vii.  28-29. 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

Sermon  Page 

VII.    Eternal  Life  the  Gift  of  Christ      .     .     .     109 

"  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and 
they  follow  me  :  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life."  — 
St.  John  x.  27-28. 

VIII.   Christian  Worship 123 

"God  is  a  Spirit:  and  they  that  worship  Him  must 
worship  in  spirit  and  truth."  —  St.  John  iv.  24. 

IX.   Relation  of  Religion  to  Culture  .     .     .     .     141 

"And  as  Paul  was  about  to  be  brought  into  the 
castle,  he  saith  unto  the  chief  captain,  May  I  say 
something  unto  thee  ?  And  he  said.  Dost  thou  know 
Greek .'' "  —  Acts  xxi.  37. 

X.   The  Gospel  of  Rest 159 

"  And  he  left  them,  and  went  forth  out  of  the  city  to 
Bethany,  and  lodged  there."  —  St.  Matthew  xxi.  17. 

XI.   Growth  of  the  Kingdom  by  Little  and  Little     177 

"By  little  and  little  I  will  drive  them  out  from 
before  thee."  —  Exodus  xxiii.  30. 

XII.   The  Bound  Life 195 

"And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto 
Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me 
there."  —  Acts  xx.  22. 

XIII.  The  Spirit  of  Adoption 211 

"For  ye  received  not  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 
unto  fear;  but  ye  received  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father."  —  Romans  viii.  15. 

XIV.  Men  and  Sparrows 225 

"  Fear  not,  therefore :  ye  are  of  more  value  than 
many  sparrows." — St.  Matthew  x.  31. 

XV.   The  Danger  and  the  Safety  of  Young  Men  .     243 

"And  the  King  said,  Is  the  young  man  Absalom 
safe?" — 2  Samuel  xviii.  29. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Sermon  Page 

XVI.    Heaven  in  Sympathy  with  the  Penitent  .     261 
"Likewise,  I  say  unto  you,  There  is  joy  in  the 
presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth." — St.  Luke  xv.  10. 

XVII.   What  is  True  Liberty ,     .     277 

"  And  he  said,  A  certain  man  had  two  sons :  and 
the  younger  of  them  said  to  his  father.  Father,  give 
me  the  portion  of  thy  substance  that  falleth  to  me. 
And  he  divided  unto  them  his  living."  —  St.  Luke 

XV.    11-12. 


XVIII.   Our  Lord's  Appreciation  of  the  Good  in 

Evil  Men 

"  Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved  him."  —  St. 
Mark  x.  21. 

XIX.   The  Life  Beyond  the  Cloud 

"  And  when  he  had  said  these  things,  as  they  were 
looking,  he  was  taken  up ;  and  a  cloud  received  him 
out  of  their  sight."  —  Acts  i.  9. 


293 


307 


I. 

THE   CHRIST   OF   YESTERDAY,   TO-DAY, 
AND   FOREVER. 


THE  CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY, 
AND  FOREVER. 

yesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday^  to-day,  and  forever. 

Hebrews  xiii.  8. 

One  impression  which  we  get  from  the  course  of 
events  in  this  world  leads  us  to  think  that  everything 
is  changing.  The  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away. 
It  has  no  yesterday,  it  is  so  new,  no  to-morrow,  it  is 
so  unsubstantial.  It  is  only  the  fashion  of  to-day,  and 
to-morrow  will  bring  a  new  fashion.  But  the  world 
lasts,  while  its  fashions  change.  The  seasons  change, 
but  time  endures.  The  springing  grass,  and  the 
leaves,  and  the  flowers  pass  away,  but  the  fields,  and 
the  hills,  and  the  mountains,  do  not  appear  to  change. 
One  who  goes  back  to  the  home  of  his  childhood  is 
impressed  by  the  changes  which  a  few  years  have 
wrought.  The  trees  that  he  planted  in  his  youth 
have  grown  beyond  his  recognition.  The  old  houses 
have  given  place  to  new  ones.  The  old  neighbors  have 
grown  old,  and  many  of  them  have  passed  on,  and  a 
new  generation  has  come  to  fill  their  places.  The 
old  habits,  the  old  ideas  of  life,  have  been  greatly 
modified.     But  human  nature,  with  its  great  wants 


4      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

and  experiences,  is  still  the  same.  And  the  general 
features  of  the  country  are  the  same.  He  will  range 
through  the  same  meadows,  climb  the  same  hill- 
sides, follow  the  same  streams,  look  up  to  the  same 
mountains. 

So  we  find  the  permanent  over  against  the  chang- 
ing. If  we  find  some  things  that  are  only  for  to-day, 
we  find  other  things  that  are  the  same  yesterday  and 
to-day,  and  they  are  likely  to  be  the  same  in  the 
years  and  generations  to  come.  History  presents 
to  us  scenes  that  are  constantly  shifting,  but  it  shows 
us  principles  that  grow  more  familiar  with  the  prog- 
ress of  time.  The  fashions  of  dress  and  of  social 
life,  the  tools,  and  even  the  employments  of  men 
change  with  the  advance  of  civilization,  but  the  great 
facts  of  human  life,  and  the  staple  wants  of  human 
beings  do  not  change.  Hunger  and  thirst  are  ever- 
more the  same ;  love  and  hope,  fear  and  pain,  sick- 
ness and  death  are  the  same.  We  look  up  to  the 
same  constellations  in  the  evening  sky  that  Moses 
saw,  and  Abraham,  and  Noah  ;  our  days  and  months 
and  years  are  the  same.  Yet  there  is  constant  prog- 
ress. -  Many  of  the  arts  that  were  important  a  few 
centuries  ago  are  lost  arts  to  us,  because  we  have 
passed  beyond  the  need  of  them.  What  could  an 
old  Greek  of  the  age  of  Themistocles  do  in  a  modern 
city,  which  is  without  walls  for  its  defence,  which  is 
lighted  by  gas  or  by  electricity,  which  receives  its 
news  by  telegraph  and  telephone,  whose  citizens 
travel  on  railways  and  in  steamships?  But,  after  all, 
he  would  find  that  the  eager,  bustling  people  of  these 
later  times  need  essentially  the  same  things  to  make 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.      5 

their  lives  comfortable  and  desirable  that  his  Athe- 
nian neighbors  needed  so  long  ago ;  that  the  old 
ideas  of  truth  and  justice,  and  of  the  rights  of  man, 
and  the  old  laws  of  self-denial  and  economy  and 
industry,  and  the  old  liabilities  to  disease  and  infirm- 
ity and  death  have  not  changed  at  all  in  twenty 
centuries. 

The  question  is  a  fair  one.  How  far  is  the  re- 
ligion of  Christ  permanent,  and  how  far  is  it  subject  to 
change  ?  It  has  had  a  long  yesterday,  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  and  more.  Is  it  the  same  to-day?  Is  it 
likely  to  be  the  same  in  the  long  to-morrow  that  it 
was  in  the  beginning?  Has  it  such  elements  of  per- 
manence that  we  may  reasonably  expect  it  to  be  the 
religion  of  the  future?  These  are  living  questions 
for  us  at  this  time  when  things  move  so  rapidly,  and 
when  the  theory  of  evolution  is  changing  so  many  of 
the  old  beliefs  and  leading  to  so  many  new  conclu- 
sions, and  when  the  great  religions  of  the  East  are 
studied  so  appreciatively.  How  far  is  the  religion 
of  Christ  to  be  modified  by  a  process  of  evolution? 
Does  the  progress  which  the  world  is  making  in  our 
time  touch  the  truths  which  are  most  surely  beheved 
among  Christians? 

I. 

Let  us  begin  with  Christ  Himself,  who  said :  *'  I  am 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life."  ''  And  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  ^ 
It  is  eighteen  centuries  since  He  lived  on  the  earth, 

1  St.  John  xii.  32. 


6      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

and  that  is  more  than  half  the  period  covered  by- 
authentic  history.  Very  Httle  that  belonged  to  that 
time  influences  the  world  now,  and  why  should  His 
words  ?  He  was  a  peasant  of  Galilee,  —  a  wandering 
preacher,  who  selected  unlearned  and  ignorant  men 
as  His  disciples,  and  who  was  despised  and  con- 
demned by  the  scribes  and  doctors  of  the  law. 
Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate  would  have  scorned  to 
exchange  places  with  this  poor  and  homeless  man. 
But  what  is  Herod  or  Pilate  to  us?  What  is  Jerusa- 
lem with  its  temple,  —  except  as  connected  with  this 
Teacher,  who  sometimes  came  there  at  the  risk  of 
His  life  to  teach  His  doctrines  to  the  people?  What 
is  Rome  to  us,  with  its  imperial  law  and  its  civiliza- 
tion, the  pride  of  its  life,  and  its  splendid  worship? 
What  is  Augustus,  the  foremost  man  in  all  the  world 
when  Jesus  was  born;  whom  men  adored  as  a  god 
after  he  was  dead?  What  but  the  most  brilliant  rep- 
resentative of  the  fashion  of  the  world  which  pass- 
eth  away?  It  would  not  have  seemed  possible  to 
one  who  stood  in  the  Roman  Forum  in  the  first 
Christian  century,  in  view  of  the  magnificent  temples 
and  palaces  of  the  eternal  city,  for  that  civilization 
to  pass  away,  and  another  civilization  so  different 
and  so  superior  to  follow  it.  But  the  very  languages 
of  that  old  world  are  dead,  and  it  lives  chiefly  in  the 
dust  of  its  tombs,  and  the  ruins  of  its  monuments, 
and  in  the  ideas  of  those  thinkers  who  were  so  far  in 
advance  of  the  popular  notions  of  their  time. 

The  question  is  a  fair  one,  IV/ij^  should  we  go  back 
to  that  age,  to  the  life  and  the  words  of  Jesus  for  our 
religioftf 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.      7 

We  shall  get  the  answer  if  we  study  the  life  and 
the  teachings  of  Jesus,  the  Christ.  Those  who  work 
with  perishable  materials  must  expect  their  works  to 
perish.  Those  who  make  the  fashion-plates,  for  ex- 
ample, have  to  do  with  that  which  *'  passeth  away." 
If  Jesus  had  been  simply  a  man  of  his  time,  if  He  had 
been  only  a  Jew,  if  He  had  given  His  life  to  the 
questions  just  then  awakening  attention.  He  would 
have  been  nothing  to  the  world  now.  But  see  how 
large  and  free  His  life  was.  He  was  born  a  Jew,  but 
He  refused  to  limit  Himself  by  any  Jewish  prejudices. 
He  taught  that  men  should  worship,  not  in  Jerusalem 
only,  but  wherever  they  could  find  a  place  for  prayer ; 
and  He  commanded  His  disciples  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature.  If  any  one  tried  to  limit 
Him  by  the  narrow  ideas  of  that  time,  He  met  them 
by  an  appeal  to  universal  truths,  to  principles  that 
are  broad  enough  for  all  times  and  all  men. 

His  ideas  were  not  those  of  the  men  of  his  time. 
They  depended  on  power;  Jesus  depended  on  love. 
They  appealed  to  the  past,  —  to  its  precedents  and 
traditions ;  He  appealed  to  the  truth,  —  to  principles 
that  are  universal.  They  despised  the  masses  of 
mankind ;  Jesus  preached  to  the  common  people, 
and  sought  to  lead  them  to  receive  the  best  things 
God  had  to  give.  They  condemned  and  despised  the 
sinful ;  Jesus  invited  the  outcasts  to  a  better  life,  and 
gave  them  the  hope  of  a  great  redemption.  Such 
ideas  can  never  become  obsolete.  They  are  still  in 
advance  of  the  practice  of  mankind. 

If  the  character  of  Jesus  had  been  full  of  defects, 
He  might  possibly  have  won  the  favor  of  the  people 


8      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

of  Galilee  and  of  Judea.  They  would  have  liked  Him 
the  better  for  His  conformity  to  their  standards.  But 
other  men,  in  times  of  higher  ideals,  would  not  have 
been  deceived.  If  His  character  was  a  perfect  one, 
it  will  commend  itself  more  and  more.  For  we  all 
have  the  idea  of  the  perfect.  There  is  a  perfection 
of  form,  which  we  call  beautiful.  There  is  a  perfec- 
tion of  character,  which  we  attribute  to  God  Himself 
Among  the  remains  of  Grecian  art  there  are  some 
forms  so  exquisitely  moulded  that  they  have  been 
recognized  by  the  ages  as  models  of  perfection;  for 
the  ideal  standard  is  the  same  for  cultivated  men  in 
all  times.  We  have  not  improved  upon  Grecian  art 
in  respect  to  beauty  of  form.  The  masterpieces  of 
ancient  art  are  prized  as  highly  now  as  they  were 
twenty-two  centuries  ago,  so  that  men  are  going  from 
all  lands  to  study  those  forms  which  were  carved  by 
Phidias  and  his  brother  artists.  There  has  been  no 
evolution  in  modern  times  in  respect  to  the  standard 
of  the  beautiful.  But  if  those  perfect  forms  appeal  to 
the  hearts  of  men  in  all  ages,  how  much  more  must  a 
perfect  character,  shown  in  the  life  of  a  perfect  Man, 
who  is  our  Friend  and  Brother.  Progress  can  never 
carry  us  beyond  perfect  truth,  and  perfect  justice,  and 
perfect  love,  combined  in  the  life  of  a  perfect  man. 

What  excellent  quaHty  of  manhood  is  there  that  did 
not  appear  in  His  life?  Is  it  courage?  See  Him 
meeting  with  the  spirit  of  earnest  conviction  the  spirit 
and  tendencies  of  His  age, —  showing  the  hollowness 
of  the  lives  of  men,  uncovering  the  hypocrisy  of  the 
Jewish  leaders,  at  the  risk  of  popularity,  of  influence, 
and  of  safety.     Count  Tolstoi  is  wrong  when  he  tells 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.      9 

US  that  Christ  taught  only  the  doctrine  of  non-resist- 
ance. He  taught  that  we  should  turn  the  other  cheek 
when  we  suffer  a  personal  wrong ;  but  He  also  taught 
us  to  resist  evil,  when  He  drove  the  money-changers 
from  the  temple  with  a  scourge  of  small  cords,  and 
when  He  denounced  the  false  teachers  of  His  time  as 
a  generation  of  vipers. 

Is  \t  fidelity  to  a  high  principle  which  marks  the  true 
man?  In  other  reformers  we  find  at  some  times  a 
lowering  of  the  standard,  a  compromising  in  view 
of  unfavorable  circumstances,  but  never  in  Christ. 
When  all  men  were  going  after  Him,  He  showed  no 
elation.  When  His  peaceful  methods  were  failing  to 
win  the  nation,  and  the  popular  voice  demanded  that 
He  assume  authority  and  employ  force,  —  when  the 
people  desired  to  make  Him  a  King,  —  He  refused  to 
follow  their  wishes.  When  threatened.  He  was  never 
disturbed ;  when  persecuted  He  never  complained. 
There  is  not  a  weak,  unmanly  word  in  all  the  records 
of  His  life.  He  wept  indeed,  but  always  for  others, 
never  for  Himself  The  nearer  He  came  to  the  cross, 
the  more  serene  His  bearing  became.  "  In  all  the 
world's  annals,"  says  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes,  *'  there  is 
nothing  that  approaches,  in  the  sublimity  of  its  cour- 
age, that  last  conversation  between  Christ  and  Pilate."  ^ 
The  prisoner,  bleeding  from  the  scourging.  His  head 
wounded  by  the  crown  of  thorns,  is  yet  calm,  self- 
possessed,  assuming  the  sublimest  claims,  and  filling 
even  the  Roman  governor  with  an  indescribable  awe. 
That  artist  is  quite  right  who  has  represented  Christ 
before  Pilate  —  in  the  dignity  of  conscious  innocence, 
1  The  Manliness  of  Christ. 


10    CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

waiting  for  the  sentence  to  the  cross,  the  appointed 
means  of  His  victory  —  looking  down,  as  a  superior 
being,  upon  the  man  who  was  pronouncing  His 
doom. 

Or  do  you  connect  with  the  manly  spirit  tenderness 
and  delicacy  of  feeli7ig,  a  sensibility  to  the  beauties 
of  nature,  deference  to  woman,  love  for  little  chil- 
dren, ready  sympathy  with  suffering  and  bereave- 
ment, a  thoughtful  and  sustained  devotion  to  the 
relief  of  the  wretched  and  the  salvation  of  the  lost? 
All  these  are  the  plain  characteristics  of  the  man 
Christ  Jesus.  And  yet  so  admirably  are  they  set 
over  against  each  other  that  you  cannot  tell  which 
predominates  in  the  assemblage  of  excellences, — 
the  courage  of  His  convictions,  fidelity  to  the  truth 
and  to  God,  or  a  delicate  courtesy,  a  warm  and  ten- 
der sympathy.  You  cannot  tell  whether  it  was  more 
characteristic  for  Christ  to  drive  the  money-changers 
from  the  temple ;  or  to  claim  equality  with  the  Father 
when  the  mob  were  ready  to  stone  Him  for  blas- 
phemy; or  to  take  little  children  in  His  arms  and 
bless  them ;  or  to  weep  over  the  ruin  of  Jerusalem ; 
or  to  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of  His  murderers ;  or 
to  open  the  gates  of  paradise  to  the  penitent  thief; 
or  to  commend  His  mother  with  His  dying  words  to 
the  disciple  whom  He  loved. 

The  completeness  of  the  character  of  Jesus  is  alto- 
gether unique.  You  cannot  say  that  He  lacked  any 
quality  of  excellence.  The  good  men  of  the  world 
have  belonged  to  certain  well-marked  types.  John 
the  Baptist,  for  example,  was  compared  with  Him; 
but  John  represented  a  hard   and  legal  piety.     He 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.       1 1 

came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  dwelling  in  the 
deserts,  his  food  locusts  and  wild  honey.  But  Jesus 
loved  the  cheerful  ways  of  men.  He  was  quite  as 
much  at  home  at  the  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee 
as  at  the  tomb  of  Lazarus,  weeping  with  the  bereaved 
family.  The  Pharisees  had  their  type  of  religious 
character,  and  the  Sadducees  had  theirs ;  but  He  could 
not  be  classed  with  either  of  them.  In  the  later  cen- 
turies Christian  devotees  retired  to  the  wilderness, 
thinking  to  gain  holiness  by  sohtary  vigils  and  pen- 
ances ;  and  still  later  the  monasteries  gathered  great 
companies  of  men  who  had  renounced  the  world  to 
escape  its  temptations.  The  Puritans  of  England 
and  New  England  illustrated  in  their  lives  the  virtue 
of  fidelity  to  truth  and  duty.  But  our  Lord  was  not 
a  hermit,  or  a  monk,  or  a  Puritan.  The  various  de- 
nominations of  Protestant  Christians  represent  dif- 
ferent types  of  Christian  character,  —  from  the  zeal 
and  fervor  of  the  Methodists,  the  conservative  rever- 
ence of  the  Episcopalians,  the  freedom  and  faith  of 
the  Congregationalists  and  the  Presbyterians,  to  the 
conscientious  obedience  of  the  Baptists.  But  no  one 
ever  thinks  of  Jesus  as  a  Methodist,  or  a  Baptist,  or 
an  Episcopalian,  or  a  Congregationahst.  His  Hfe 
was  not  moulded  according  to  any  fashion,  or  limited 
by  any  partial  views  of  truth.  He  knew  the  truth 
from  its  central  source.  Every  excellent  quality 
which  we  find  apart  in  others,  we  find  combined  in 
Him.  There  was  "  no  fault  at  all  in  Him."  He  is 
the  perfect  Model,  the  Light  of  the  World,  and  the 
Saviour  of  mankind,  —  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever. 


12      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 


II. 

If  we  pass  from  Christ  as  an  historic  Person, — 
the  divine  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion,  to  co?t- 
sider  His  teacJiings^  we  still  meet  the  question  whether 
the  rehgion  of  Christ  is  entitled  to  a  permanent  place 
as  the  rehgion  of  the  world.  Other  religions  have 
been  outgrown  in  the  progress  of  mankind.  Why- 
should  not  men  outgrow  the  Christian  rehgion?  Is 
there  any  reason  why  we  should  consider  this  as  the 
absolute  religion?  We  shall  find  in  the  history  of 
our  religion  striking  illustrations  of  the  fact  that 
whatever  is  narrow  and  limited  and  imperfect  will 
pass  away  as  men  advance,  while  that  which  em- 
bodies truths  that  are  universal  will  endure. 

The  forms  of  worships  for  example,  are  liable  to 
change.  The  primitive  Christians,  accustomed  to 
the  most  simple  services  of  prayer  and  praise,  in 
private  rooms,  or  in  the  catacombs,  or  in  the  deserts, 
would  hardly  recognize  as  fellow  disciples  those  who 
in  magnificent  churches  and  cathedrals  worship  the 
same  Lord.  The  organization  of  the  Church  has 
varied  in  different  ages  and  countries.  The  tendency 
on  the  whole,  in  later  times,  is  towards  simplicity  in 
worship  and  in  organization.  The  vestments  of  the 
clergy,  the  style  of  church  music,  the  form  of  church 
edifices,  all  these  are  among  the  variable  elements  in 
the  Church.  There  has  been  progress  in  the  knowl- 
edge and  the  statement  of  the  doctrines  of  our  re- 
ligion. The  first  Christians  had  not  by  any  means  a 
complete  system  of  religious  truth.     The   Apostles' 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.      1 3 

Creed  Is  far  less  complete  than  the  Nicene  or  the 
Athanasian  creeds;  and  these  are  very  far  behind  the 
Creeds  of  the  Reformers,  The  Westminster  Confes- 
sion was  in  advance  of  any  of  the  earlier  confessions, 
and  yet  there  are  very  few  well-informed  Christians 
who  are  not  now  in  advance  of  some  parts  of  the 
Westminster  Confession.  The  Reformers  had  learned 
more  about  justification  by  faith  than  the  early 
Christians  knew ;  and  modern  Christians  know  more 
about  the  love  of  God,  and  the  freeness  of  the  gospel 
than  the  Puritans  knew.  More  light  has  been  break- 
ing from  the  Word  of  God.  The  great  movements 
in  modern  missions  have  enlarged  the  views  of  Chris- 
tians in  respect  to  the  purpose  of  the  Incarnation. 
The  decay  of  systems  of  absolutism,  and  the  progress 
of  political  and  religious  liberty  have  prepared  men 
to  understand  the  teachings  of  our  Lord.--/.  The  prog- 
ress of  Christian  thought,  or,  in  the  phrase  of  the  day, 
the  evolution  of  religion,  has  given  to  the  Church  a 
more  adequate  conception  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God, 
and  of  the  extent  of  His  redemptive  purposes. 

The  question  is  a  fair  one,  How  far  are  these  changes 
in  religions  opinion  likely  to  extend  ?  Are  the  foun- 
dations of  our  faith  in  danger?  Will  the  religion  of 
the  future  be  Christian? 

The  true  answer  to  this  question,  which  so  many 
are  asking,  is  this :  these  changes  do  not  touch  the 
essential  truths  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  deepest 
wants  of  men  are  the  same  in  every  age,  and  these 
deepest  wants  are  met  by  the  religion  of  Jesus  the 
Christ.  There  are  certain  facts  in  the  life  of  man 
which  are  not  changed  at  all  by  the  progress  of  mod- 


14      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

ern  thought.  Life  is  short.  Death  is  certain.  We 
are  weak,  and  dependent,  and  prone  to  evil.  As  all 
men  need  food  that  they  may  live,  so  all  men  need 
the  favor  and  love  of  God.  As  all  must  die,  so  all 
must  render  account  to  God  for  the  deeds  done  in 
the  body.  The  sense  of  responsibility  rests  upon  all 
men, —  whether  pagans  or  Christians,  and  this  has 
always  been  the  great  burden  of  humanity.  The 
Hindoo  asks  how  to  get  rid  of  his  burden  of  sin,  just 
as  all  men  in  all  ages  have  asked.  The  deepest  truth 
in  the  Christian  religion  is  this :  that  Christ  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners,  to  save  those  who  were  lost. 
He  taught  in  the  most  impressive  moment  of  His 
life  that  His  blood  was  ^'  shed  for  many  for  the  remis- 
sion of  si7is!'  ^  He  brings  **  life  and  immortality  to 
light,"  and  holds  out  to  men  the  offer  of  eternal  life  in 
the  kingdom  of  God.  He  brings  this  infinite  gift 
within  reach  of  every  man  on  this  earth.  These 
truths  of  the  Christian  faith  were  the  sources  of  its 
power  when  Paul  preached  all  the  way  from  Antioch 
to  Rome ;  and  they  stand  to-day,  like  the  sun  in  the 
sky,  the  sources  of  light  and  of  life  to  the  world.  So 
long  as  man  is  man,  he  will  need  just  that  which  our 
Saviour  offers  in  the  gospel.  The  progress  of  man- 
kind in  the  arts  of  Hfe  and  in  philosophy  cannot  pos- 
sibly carry  them  beyond  the  need  of  peace  with  God, 
through  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 

1  For  myself,  I  believe  that  Paul's  message  to  the  Corinthians,— 
Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  —  is  the  highest  that  has  ever  come 
to  man,  and  the  personal  form  which  the  divine  idea  assumed  in  the 
apostolic  announcement  appears  to  me  essential  to  the  reality  and 
permanence  of  the  idea  itself.  —  Dr.  George  A.  Gordon,  in  77/*? 
Christ  of  To-day,  p.  256. 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.      1 5 


III. 

But  there  is  yet  higher  ground  for  us  to  take. 
Religion  is  more  than  a  theory  or  a  system  of  doctrine. 
It  is,  first  of  all,  a  personal  experience.  It  does  not  de- 
pend upon  books  of  evidences.  What  the  religion  of 
Christ  really  is,  is  known  to  every  one  who  knows  the 
love  of  God  and  the  *'  joy  of  salvation."  If  it  were 
possible  for  the  progress  of  modern  criticism  to 
destroy  even  the  Bible,  —  the  record  of  God's  revela- 
tion, —  religion  would  remain  in  the  hearts  of  true 
disciples  as  a  living  experience ;  just  as  an  experience 
of  love  and  sympathy  and  friendship  would  remain 
after  the  books  that  tell  about  them  had  perished. 
Religion  does  not  depend  upon  a  book.  Father 
Taylor,  the  chaplain  at  the  Seamen's  Bethel,  used  to 
say :  *'  I  do  not  want  anybody  to  prove  to  me  that 
there  is  a  God,  for  I  have  been  well  acquainted  with 
Him  for  a  great  many  years."  That  is  the  vital  fact 
in  regard  to  personal  religion.  Every  Christian  is  in 
communion  and  fellowship  with  God,  and  knows  him 
as  truly  as  he  knows  his  own  kindred.^ 

If,  then,  you  meet  an  unbeliever,  ask  him  to  follow 
the  history  of  a  disciple  of  Christ.  Begin  at  the 
time  when  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding, begins  to  fill  his  soul,  —  the  moment 
when  he  makes  his  first  real  prayer,  and  the  clouds 
which  till  then  had  separated  him  from  God  are  scat- 
tered, and  the  first  direct  answer  comes  back,  and  he 

1  See  The  Evidence  of  Christian  Experience,  Prof.  L.  F.  Stearns, 
p.  138  ;  also  p.  423,  note  19. 


1 6      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

knows  that  heaven  is  opened,  and  that  messages  are 
going  to  God  and  returning  from  Him,  as  the  angels 
went  and  came  on  the  ladder  that  Jacob  saw.  He 
has  the  Spirit  witnessing  with  his  own  spirit  that  he 
is  born  of  God.  He  has  the  assurance  of  the  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  and  of  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.^  This  personal  experience  is  the  deep- 
est fact  in  the  Christian  consciousness. 

A  few  years  pass,  and  that  young  disciple  is  draw- 
ing towards  the  end  of  his  life.  You  will  hardly 
recognize  in  the  venerable  old  man  the  youth  who 
so  long  ago  became  a  disciple  of  the  Christ.  The 
fashion  of  the  world  has  gone  by  with  him.  The 
fancies  and  dreams  of  his  youth  have  departed. 
The  friends  of  his  youth  have  gone.  All  the  old 
life  has  gone.  But  the  great  hope  has  become  more 
precious  as  he  has  come  nearer  the  land  of  Beulah 
and  the  celestial  city.  He  has  walked  with  God  so 
long  that  he  desires  to  depart,  that  he  may  be  with 
Him.  We  have  all  seen  such  Christians  die,  and 
when  all  other  interests  and  thoughts  had  been 
dropped,  in  their  progress  towards  heaven,  the  love 
of  Christ  has  drawn  them  forward  more  and  more 
strongly,  —  a  love  more  enduring  than  life,  the  same 
when  flesh  and  heart  were  failing,  and  the  glories  of 
the  spiritual  world  were  lighting  up  the  path  of  the 
departing  saint. 

This  personal  experience  is  the  essential  fact  in 
Christianity.  The  ethnic  religions  have  nothing  to 
correspond  with  it.  It  was  to  prepare  the  way  for 
this  experience  that  the  Son  of  God  came  into  the 

^  St.  John  ix.  25 ;  Romans  viii.  16. 


CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER.       1/ 

world,  that  those  who  "  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  " 
might  come  unto  Him  and  find  **  rest  for  their  souls," 
and  that,  as  He  said.  He  might  give  unto  them  "  eter- 
nal life."  It  was  to  secure  this  religious  experience 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  came  to  enter  into  the  work  of 
redemption.  For  this  same  end  the  Bible  was  given. 
For  this  the  Church  of  God  exists,  with  its  ministry 
and  all  its  means  of  grace.  Every  missionary  enter- 
prise, every  missionary  station  has  this  for  its  final 
purpose. 

So  long  as  there  are  living  Christians  in  the  world, 
the  evidence  of  the  truth  and  reality  of  the  Christian 
religion  will  continue.  This  experience  varies  a  little 
as  the  circumstances  of  Christians  vary,  but  in  all 
essential  respects  it  has  been  the  same,  whether  in 
the  time  of  St.  Paul  or  of  Augustine,  of  Luther  or  of 
Wesley,  of  the  first  disciples  or  of  those  of  our  own 
time. 

This  experience  has  all  the  marks  of  a  divine  work. 
It  is  uniform,  it  is  permanent,  it  is  controlling.  It 
is  the  evidence  to  us  that  God  is  now  present  in  His 
own  world,  —  an  immanent  God,  fulfilling  His  prom- 
ises, and  enlarging  His  kingdom.  The  convincing 
answer  to  the  unbelief  of  our  time  is  the  living 
Church,  vital  in  every  part,  holding  forth  the  word 
of  life,  and  attested  by  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  So  long  as  the  vital  spiritual  work  of  Christ 
goes  forward,  nothing  can  hinder  its  conquests. 

May  we  not  expect  that  this  work  in  human  souls 
will  continue  in  the  long  to-morrow?  It  has  back  of 
it  the  purposes  of  God  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.     It  has  back  of  it  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ 


I  8      CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER. 

and  His  wonderful  words.  The  Holy  Spirit  of  God 
gives  it  vital  force.  Inasmuch  as  the  Lord  has  begun 
this  work  of  Redemption,  will  He  not  continue  it 
until  He  shall  have  filled  heaven  with  redeemed 
souls,  who  shall  ascribe  honor  and  glory  unto  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  is  alive  forevermore? 


II. 

THE  FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF 
CHRIST. 


11. 


THE   FUTURE   OF   THE   KINGDOM   OF 
CHRIST. 

The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation :  Neither 
shall  they  say,  Lo  here  I  or,  lo  there  !  for,  behold,  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  within  you.  St.  Luke  xvii.  20,  21. 

Most  of  the  words  of  Christ  referred  directly  to 
events  which  belonged  to  his  own  time.  He  spoke 
with  reference  to  the  sins  which  were  then  common, 
and  to  the  tendencies  which  were  then  strong.  But 
the  divine  wisdom  of  His  words  appears  in  this,  that 
the  things  which  were  spoken  to  the  men  of  His  own 
age  are  found  to  be  suited  to  the  necessities  of  men 
of  all  ages;  so  that  this  Teacher  of  the  common 
people  of  Galilee  is  also  the  Teacher  of  the  wise 
men  of  Europe  and  America.  His  words,  indeed, 
have  profounder  meanings  for  us  than  they  could 
have  had  for  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 

Take  these  words  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  Jews  had  much  to  say  about  that  kingdom,  but 
they  did  not  comprehend  it.  They  always  spoke 
of  it  as  something  outward,  something  which  came 
*'  with  observation."  They  fancied  that  the  king- 
dom of  God  was  of  necessity  connected  with  Jeru- 
salem and  Judea;   and  they  looked  for  a  Redeemer 


22      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST. 

who  should  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel.-^  It  was, 
in  their  view,  a  political  kingdom,  and  they  were 
looking  in  this  direction  and  in  that  for  some  means 
of  breaking  the  Roman  yoke.  In  their  religious 
observances  they  laid  an  undue  stress  upon  out- 
ward rites  and  ceremonies.  The  Saviour  was  always 
directing  their  thoughts  from  these  outward  things  to 
the  things  that  are  spiritual,  —  to  the  spiritual  mean- 
ing of  religious  rites,  and  the  spiritual  nature  of  the 
true  kingdom.  **  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  wor- 
ship him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  truth." 
"  The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation," 
for  it  is  set  up  within  you,  and  the  ''pure  in  heart" 
are  the  ones  that  "  shall  see  God." 

These  words  from  the  old  gospel  may  guide  us  to  a 
correct  view  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  its  relation  to 
some  of  the  current  discussions  of  this  Age  of  Doubt. 

The  intellectual  struggle  which  is  now  going  on 
concerning  the  very  basis  of  the  Faith,  —  concerning 
the  apostolic  teaching  which  has  come  down  from  the 
first  century,  —  is  perhaps  the  greatest  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  and  it  is  destined  to  become  more  serious 
at  no  distant  time,  and  perhaps  to  deal  with  questions 
in  a  more  profound  way.  Already,  in  the  words  of  a 
recent  writer,  "  men  are  calmly  questioning  and  pre- 
paring to  cast  aside  beliefs  which  were  once  accepted 
as  the  very  basis  of  religion.  Doctrines  are  swinging 
before  us  in  the  balance  that  seemed  but  yesterday  to 
be  fixed  as  mountains."  ^  Young  men  are  watching  the 
progress  of  scientific  discovery,  saying,  '*  Lo  here !  " 

1  Philochristus,  p.  29. 

2  Questions  of  Belief,  W.  H.  Mallock,  p.  281, 


THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF    CHRIST.      23 

or  *'  Lo  there  !  "  as  though  the  kingdom  of  God  came 
by  observations^  whether  through  the  microscope,  or 
through  the  finest  chemical  analysis,  or  combinations, 
or  the  most  careful  examinations  of  Hfe.  Questions 
relating  to  the  divine  authority  of  the  Bible  are  more 
and  more  prominent.  Strauss,  in  his  old  age,  pub- 
lished "  The  Old  and  the  New  Faith,"  assuming  that 
the  world  had  outgrown  the  old,  and  that  it  was 
already  seeking  for  the  new;  and  he  succeeded  at 
least  in  showing  that,  for  himself,  with  his  active  yet 
darkened  mind,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  faith. 
Indeed,  the  question  of  the  New  Testament,  ''  When 
the  Son  of  man  cometh  shall  he  find  faith  on  the 
earth?  "  ^  is  a  question  which  is  as  pertinent  now  as  it 
was  eighteen  centuries  ago. 

It  is  important  to  come  to  such  questions  with  open 
minds.  We  must  guard  against  the  fallacies  that  lurk 
in  so  much  of  human  reasoning.  We  should  seek  to 
gain  broad  and  comprehensive  views  of  truth.  One 
cannot  expect  to  see  all  the  stars  of  heaven  so  long 
as  he  dwells  in  a  cave.  The  truth  has  more  to  fear 
from  a  narrow  and  superficial  scholarship  than  from 
anything  else.  No  one  can  hope  to  reach  firm  stand- 
ing-ground until  he  has  studied  these  questions  widely, 
and  studied  them  long. 

I. 

We  shall  do  well  to  approach  the  discussion  through 
the  history  of  religious  thought.  Any  one  who  is 
versed    in   the   history  of  opinions   must   be   aware 

1  St.  Luke  xviii.  8. 


24      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST. 

that  the  law  of  action  and  reaction  has  always  been 
illustrated  in  religious  progress.  It  is  no  new  thing 
for  the  current  to  set  strongly  towards  unbelief. 
There  have  been  a  number  of  periods  in  Christian 
history  when  it  has  seemed  as  though  the  world  was 
drifting  away  from  a  belief  in  the  supernatural. 
Every  such  period  has  been  followed  by  a  reaction 
which  has  given  religious  truth  a  stronger  hold  upon 
the  world.  The  growth  of  the  kingdom  has  never 
been  uniform.  The  tide  ebbs  and  flows.  The  pen- 
dulum swings  backwards  and  forwards.  It  would  not 
follow  that  the  Christian  religion  was  really  losing  its 
hold,  even  if  the  great  mass  of  educated  men  were  to 
become  unbelievers.  One  of  the  benefits  of  the  his- 
toric spirit  is  the  power  it  gives  one  to  appreciate  these 
currents  and  counter  currents  of  religious  opinion. 

All  through  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment we  find  that  the  people  of  Israel  were  vacillating 
between  the  worship  of  the  true  God  and  that  of  the 
gods  of  the  heathen.  The  reason  was  that  the  reli- 
gion of  their  fathers  was  really  above  their  spiritual 
level.  It  required  an  eflbrt  to  raise  them  at  any  time 
high  enough  so  that  they  could  enter  with  any  hearti- 
ness into  its  spiritual  cultus.  There  was  always  a 
tendency  to  drop  towards  a  lower  plane.  There  was 
no  such  alternation  among  the  people  who  dwelt 
around  them,  because  their  religious  systems  did  not 
require  any  such  elevation  of  the  moral  and  spiritual 
tone. 

Among  Christian  nations  there  has  been  a  similar 
alternation  between  faith  and  unbelief,  and  for  the 
same    reason.     We    can    select   illustrations    of    this 


THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST.      25 

statement  from  any  one  of  the  Christian  centuries. 
Let  us  take,  for  example,  the  religious  history  of  Eng- 
land since  the  Reformation.  Never  was  there  a 
greater  change  in  the  moral  and  religious  state  of  a 
nation  than  that  in  England  between  the  early  years 
of  Elizabeth  and  the  time  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  The 
Bible  became  the  book  of  the  people,  and  its  truths 
the  most  common  objects  of  thought.  The  best  liter- 
ature of  the  period  was  represented  by  Hooker,  and 
Bacon,  and  Bunyan,  and  Spenser,  and  Milton,  and  it 
was  saturated  with  religious  ideas.  The  Puritan  spirit 
gave  a  serious  and  religious  tone  to  society  as  well  as 
to  literature.  Even  the  government  of  the  State  was 
regarded  as  subsidiary  to  the  progress  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Some  of  the  old  forms  of  worship  were  dis- 
carded, that  men  might  pay  their  devotions  in  ways 
that  were  more  simple  and  sincere.  The  Lord's  Day 
was  rescued  from  desecration,  and  was  kept  all  over 
England  as  a  holy  day.^  The  Puritan  movement 
was  a  whole  century  in  gathering  strength,  and  one 
would  have  supposed  that  its  strong  currents  would 
have  continued  to  flow.  But  the  religious  tone  of 
Puritanism  was  too  high  to  be  maintained  at  that 
period,  and  it  was  followed  by  a  great  reaction  on  the 
restoration  of  the  Stuarts.  Says  Mr.  Greene,  ''When 
Charles  came  to  Whitehall  the  whole  face  of  England 
was  changed."  "  All  that  was  noblest  and  best  in 
Puritanism  was  whirled  away."  "  Godliness  became 
a  byword  of  scorn."  ''  The  young  men  drank  in 
the  spirit  of  scepticism  and  free  inquiry.  From  the 
spiritual  problems  which  engrossed  attention   in  the 

1  Lecky,  Democracy  and  Liberty,  vol.  ii.  p.  102. 


26      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST. 

times  of  the  Puritans,  England  turned  to  the  study  of 
nature,  so  that  the  pursuit  of  physical  science  became 
a  passion."  ^  The  first  national  observatory  arose  at 
Greenwich.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  gave  a  fresh  impulse 
to  the  pursuit  of  natural  science  by  his  great  discov- 
eries. The  young  scholars  of  the  nation  were  devoted 
to  these  studies.  Useful  inventions  and  the  conven- 
iences of  life  were  greatly  multiplied. 

With  this  devotion  to  nature  came  in  the  phi- 
losophy of  Hume,  which  has  ever  been  the  method  of 
unbelief,  and  the  sceptical  system  of  Hobbes.  Later 
still  the  historian  says  that  religion  sunk  to  a  lower 
point.  ''  In  the  higher  circles  every  one  laughs  if  one 
talks  of  religion."  '*0f  the  prominent  statesmen  of 
the  time  the  greater  part  were  unbelievers  in  any 
form  of  Christianity,  and  distinguished  for  the  gross- 
ness  and  immorality  of  their  lives."  "  We  saw  but 
one  Bible  in  the  parish  of  Cheddar,"  said  Hannah 
More,  "  and  that  was  used  to  prop  a  flower  pot."  ^ 
Vice  and  crime  existed  everywhere,  in  high  circles  and 
in  low.  The  Church,  if  we  may  credit  the  representa- 
tions of  Mr.  Macaulay,  had  lost  its  power  for  good. 
Nine-tenths  of  the  clergy  had  sunk  into  the  station  of 
menial  servants  in  the  aristocratic  houses  where  they 
officiated  as  chaplains.  ''  Sometimes,"  says  a  recent 
writer,  '*  the  reverend  man  nailed  up  the  apricots,  and 
sometimes  he  curried  the  coach  horses,  and  sometimes 
he  was  even  compelled  to  resort  to  the  feeding  of  swine 
that  he  might  obtain  his  daily  bread."  ^ 

1  Short  History  of  England,  pp.  587-600. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  707. 

3  Quoted  by  Prof,  Austin  Phelps,  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  1857,  p.  290. 


THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST.      27 

In  the  earlier  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  in 
England  the  power  of  religion  was  very  small.  Addi- 
son declared  that  there  was  *'  less  appearance  of 
religion  in  England  than  in  any  neighboring  State  or 
kingdom."  Bishop  Butler  said  that  '*  many  persons 
took  it  for  granted  that  Christianity  was  now  at  length 
discovered  to  be  fictitious."  Lady  Montagu  wrote  that 
"  more  atheists  were  to  be  found  among  the  fine  ladies 
of  the  time  than  among  the  lower  sort  of  rakes."  ^ 

For  a  long  period  the  masses  of  the  English  people 
turned  away  from  the  churches.  The  Puritan  Lord's- 
Day  was  exchanged  for  the  Sunday  of  the  continent. 
Romanism  was  secretly  fostered  at  the  court,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  England  was  destined  to  pass 
again  under  the  power  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  But 
in  due  time  there  came  a  reaction  which  has  carried 
the  influence  of  Christianity  much  higher  than  in  the 
best  periods  before.  This  reaction  seemed  to  begin 
with  the  labors  of  the  Wesleys,  and  of  Whitefield,  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  It  extended  to  all 
branches  of  the  church,  and  to  all  departments  of 
religious  activity.  It  efiectually  limited  the  influence 
of  unbelief,  and  brought  back  the  great  mass  of  Eng- 
lishmen to  Christianity.  This  movement  developed 
into  the  great  revivals  of  religion  which  have  swept 
over  England  and  America  so  many  times.  Out  of 
it  has  grown  the  system  of  Sunday-schools,  the 
extension  of  popular  education,  the  great  philan- 
thropic  enterprises  of  the  time,  especially  the  anti- 

1  Lecky,  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  vol.  i.,  pp.  516-519; 
Sidney's  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  vol,  ii.,  pp.  323,  324; 
Bibliotheca  Sacra,  1897,  pp.  68-70. 


28      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST. 

slavery  movement,  the  temperance  reform,  the  Bible 
and  Tract  societies,  the  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary 
societies,  and  the  spirit  of  Christian  union.  Among 
the  indirect  results  of  this  reaction  have  been  the  rise 
of  a  spiritual  philosophy,  the  philosophy  of  intuitions 
in  place  of  the  sensational  philosophy  of  Locke ;  and 
the  rise  of  a  moral  science  founded  upon  immutable 
right  in  place  of  the  selfish  system ;  the  cultivation 
of  a  higher  style  of  poetry,  under  the  influence  of 
Wordsworth  and  Coleridge;^  and,  in  poHtics,  the 
extension  of  free  institutions,  the  protection  of  the 
rights  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  the  enfran- 
chisement of  woman.  The  Victorian  period  has  seen 
the  finest  growth  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  this  great  reaction  has  been 
succeeded  by  another  in  the  opposite  direction.  The 
extension  of  commerce,  and  the  great  increase  of 
wealth ;  the  amazing  progress  of  the  natural  sciences ; 
the  improvements  in  the  practical  arts ;  the  progress 
of  political  freedom,  —  all  these  have  had  a  tendency 
to  turn  the  attention  of  men  from  that  which  is  spiritual 
to  that  which  is  material :  from  the  inward  to  the 
outward  ;  from  metaphysics  to  physics  ;  from  theology 
to  chemistry  and  biology;  from  the  word  of  God  to 
the  philosophies  of  men ;  from  the  kingdom  of  God 
to  the  kingdom  of  man.  It  is  inevitable  that  in  such 
an  age  there  should  be  some  weakening  of  the  power 
of  the  supernatural. 

The  history  of  the  religions  life  in  New  England  is 
also  full  of  illustrations  of  the  same  tendencies.  In 
the  earlier    Puritan    age    the    religious    spirit   of  the 

1  Shidrp,  Poetry  and  Philosophy,  p.  2. 


THE  FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST.      29 

colonists  was  a  high  one.  They  had  been  sifted  out 
from  the  mass  of  their  countrymen  by  a  long  course 
of  persecution.  They  were  men  of  eminent  piety. 
Religious  ideas  and  religious  motives  guided  their 
plans  of  life.  But  in  the  next  generation  there  was 
a  change.  "  A  Httle  after  1660,"  says  Thomas  Prince, 
"  there  began  to  appear  a  decay ;  and  this  increased 
to  1670,  when  it  grew  very  visible  and  threatening, 
and  was  generally  complained  of  by  the  pious  people 
among  them.  This  tendency  was  much  stronger  in 
1680,  when  but  few  of  the  first  generation  remained." 
Revivals  of  religion  were  few.  The  standard  of 
morality  was  low.  There  were  great  changes  in  theo- 
logical opinion.  The  Lord's  Day  was  commonly 
desecrated.  The  line  between  the  Church  and  the 
world  was  almost  obliterated.^  This  declension  con- 
tinued up  to  the  Great  Awakening,  in  the  time  of 
President  Edwards,  who  bears  testimony  to  the 
changes  in  the  religious  spirit  of  the  people  and  to 
the  low  standard  of  morality  among  them.  And  yet, 
we  are  told,  everybody  at  that  time  was  expecting  to 
go  to  heaven  at  last,  whatever  his  life  might  be.  The 
Great  Awakening  began  a  religious  movement  which 
was  felt  for  many  years.  But  towards  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  there  was  another  period  of  reli- 
gious decline.  The  great  revivals  of  the  first  third  of 
the  present  century  raised  the  churches  to  a  higher 
plane  of  religious  activity  than  they  had  ever  known 
before.  But  it  led  also  to  a  separation  from  the  old 
Puritan  churches   of  a  large  number   of  people  who 

1  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  Enprland,  p.  327  ;  The  Reli- 
gious Life  in  New  England,  Dr.  G.  L.  Walker. 


30     THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF  CHRIST. 

had  lost  their  faith  in  the  Divinity  of  Our  Lord, 
and  in  some  other  doctrines  of  the  EvangeHcal 
churches.^ 

So  there  have  been  these  oscillations  of  the  pen- 
dulum. But  the  point  I  insist  upon  is  this:  these 
changes  have  been  temporary,  and  self-limited. 
There  are  strong  reasons  for  the  opinion  that  they 
cannot  permanently  weaken  the  hold  of  religion 
upon  men.  On  the  whole,  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
has  extended  its  influence  in  each  of  the  centuries 
of  its  history. 

II. 

Passing  from  this  historical  view  of  the  changes 
which  have  accompanied  religious  progress  in  the 
world,  it  is  important  to  notice  the  fact  that  the 
religion  of  Christ  does  not  depe7id  upon  science,  or 
speculations,  or  upojt  the  state  of  opiftion  among  men, 
for  its  basis  or  for  its  growth.  "  Neither  shall  they 
say,  Lo  here !  or,  lo  there !  for  behold  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  within  you."  The  basis  of  religion  is  in 
the  constitution  of  the  human  soul.  God  made  man 
"  in  His  image  and  after  His  likeness,"  made  him  for 
communion  and  fellowship  with  Himself;  and  this 
communion  and  fellowship  with  God  is  the  one 
great  object  of  the  Christian  revelation.  It  is  to 
know  God ;  to  "  acquaint  ourselves  with  Him  and  be 
at  peace ;  "  *'  to  abide  in  Him."  ''  This  is  life  eter- 
nal," said  our  Lord,  *'  that  they  might  know  thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus    Christ  whom   thou   hast 

1  Some  Aspects  of  the  Religious  Life  of  New  England,  by  Dr.  G.  L. 
Walker,  lectures  iii.,  iv.,  v. 


THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST.      3 1 

sent."  ^  Religion  is  possible  for  man  because  he 
has  religious  faculties,  just  as  knowledge  is  possible 
for  man  because  he  has  intellectual  faculties,  just  as 
the  cultivation  of  taste  is  possible  because  he  has 
the  sense  of  the  beautiful.  Religion  grows  out  of 
a  sense  of  dependence  and  of  obligation.  Its  final 
object  is  to  bring  us  to  God.  When  man  is  in  con- 
nection with  God  he  will  be  like  Him;  that  is,  he 
will  be  pure  and  holy. 

God  has  provided  for  this  in  the  constitution  of 
our  moral  nature.  He  has  not  left  Himself  without 
a  witness.  He  has  written  His  law  upon  our  hearts. 
We  know  in  our  own  consciousness  that  we  are  free 
and  that  we  are  responsible.  We  do  not  learn  of 
God  from  others.  As  we  know  ourselves  as  per- 
sonal and  responsible,  so  we  know  God  as  the  First 
Cause,  —  the  Being  to  whom  we  are  responsible. 
With  such  a  moral  and  religious  nature,  man  has 
a  foundation  for  religion.  This  is  the  reason  why 
men  of  different  tribes,  and  different  stages  of  cul- 
ture have  had  some  form  of  worship.  This  is  the 
reason  why  we  have  no  instance  in  history  of  a 
nation  that  has  given  up  religion.  Sometimes  a 
nation  has  changed  its  gods  (though  not  often),  just 
as  sometimes  a  nation  has  changed  its  style  of  dress, 
and  its  food,  and  its  government,  its  laws,  its  music, 
and  its  language.  But  a  nation  does  not  give  up  all 
food,  or  music,  or  language,  or  government,  or  law; 
because  men  are  so  made  that  they  need  these 
things.  For  the  same  reason  a  nation  does  not 
give  up  religion. 

^  St.  John  xvii.  3. 


32      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST. 

Let  me  suggest,  further,  that  as  each  one  of  the 
natural  senses  has  its  own  specific  object,  so  each 
part  of  our  intellectual  and  spiritual  being  has  its 
own  specific  object.  We  do  not  judge  of  a  painting 
by  the  sense  of  smell.  We  do  not  judge  of  music 
by  sight.  A  man  who  has  always  been  blind  cannot 
form  a  conception  of  color.  And  so  it  is  that  each 
part  of  our  complex  being  takes  cognizance  of  its 
own  specific  objects.  Now,  the  religious  faculty  has 
its  own  specific  objects,  just  as  the  other  faculties 
have  theirs.  A  man  cannot  judge  of  religion  by 
the  sense  of  touch  or  of  smell.  He  cannot  judge  of 
religion  by  his  aesthetic  nature.  For  religion  is  not 
a  matter  of  taste.  He  cannot  judge  of  religion  by 
any  of  the  processes  or  results  of  natural  science, 
for  religion  does  not  belong  to  the  natural  world, 
but  to  the  supernatural.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not 
in  protoplasm.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  that 
deep-sea  ooze  to  which  Prof.  Huxley  gave  the  name 
of  Bathybius.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  the 
crucible  of  the  chemist.  Nobody  need  expect  to 
find  God  among  the  ashes,  or  to  distil  His  essence 
from  the  gases.  The  claims  of  religion  cannot  be 
affected  by  the  decision  of  the  questions  concerning 
the  origin  of  species.  The  doctrine  of  development 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  doctrine  of  human  re- 
sponsibility or  of  immortality,  —  with  the  doctrine 
of  prayer,  or  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin. 

It  is  also  true  that  God  is  present  in  the  world  to 
secure  the  development  of  the  religious  nature  which 
He  has  given  to  man.  He  has  given  a  revelation  of 
so  much  truth  as  we  need  to  know.     He  is  sending 


THE   FUTURE   OF   THE   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST.      33 

His  Spirit  to  convince  us  of  our  need  of  Him,  and 
to  guide  us  in  the  way  to  eternal  life. 


III. 

If  these  positions  be  admitted,  it  follows  that  the 
progress  of  natural  science  cannot  affect  the  foun- 
dations of  spiritual  religion,  because  natural  sciejtce 
does  not  have  anything  to  do  with  those  foundations. 
How  is  it  possible,  for  example,  that  the  science  of 
nature  should  prove  that  there  is  no  God?  For, 
first,  that  would  be  proving  a  negative,  which  is 
always  difficult.  Then,  the  purpose  of  science  is 
to  investigate  nature,  not  the  Author  of  nature. 
Suppose  it  should  be  proved  that  all  natural  pro- 
cesses are  governed  by  stable  and  definite  laws. 
Very  well;  is  not  God  the  Author  of  those  laws? 
Are  not  those  laws  simply  the  ways  in  which  the 
Almighty  exerts  His  power?  Suppose  it  should  be 
proved  that  all  the  various  kinds  of  life,  vegetable 
and  animal,  have  been  derived  from  a  few  original 
types,  or  that  all  these  types  should  be  reduced  to 
one,  would  not  the  question  still  remain,  how  came 
that  one  life  to  exist?  Whence  had  it  that  myste- 
rious power  wrapped  up  within  itself,  which  could 
develop  into  all  those  myriad  forms  of  life?  And 
that  is  a  question  which  science  cannot  answer. 
Science,  at  the  utmost,  can  only  remove  the  ques- 
tion of  a  Creator  a  little  further  back.  It  is  a  more 
wonderful  thing  to  create  that  germ  which  had  within 
itself  '*  the  promise  and  potency  of  all  life,"  that  first 
life   from  which,  in  the  progress  of  ages,  may  have 

3 


34      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST. 

come  beasts  and  birds,  and  creeping  things,  and  man 
himself,  than  to  have  made  these  *'  each  after  his 
kind."  Suppose  that  all  the  stars  of  heaven  have 
been  evolved  from  the  star  dust,  —  who  made  the 
star  dust?  who  gave  to  it  its  wonderful  properties? 
whose  power  set  it  in  motion,  and  secured  its  evolu- 
tion?    Can  science  tell? 

Take  the  question,  which  some  one  has  stated  re- 
cently, ''whether  we  are  our  bodies;"  whether  that 
which  we  mean  when  we  say  ''ourselves"  is  anything 
more  than  the  body  of  flesh  and  blood  ;  the  question, 
indeed,  whether  man  has  a  spiritual  and  an  immortal 
part.  Science  can  show  that  the  mind  is  affected  by 
the  body.  An  English  writer  states  the  facts  in  this 
striking  way :  "  Body  and  mind  have  visible  relations 
to  each  other.  There  is  organic  unity  in  the  whole 
man.  Touch  the  smallest  fibre  of  the  corporeal  man, 
and  in  some  infinitesimal  way  we  may  trace  the  effect 
up  into  the  higher  pinnacles  of  spiritual  life.  Man 
is  one,  however  compound.  Fire  his  conscience  and 
he  blushes.  Check  his  circulation  and  he  thinks 
wildly,  or  thinks  not  at  all.  Impair  his  secretions 
and  moral  sense  is  dulled,  his  aspirations  flag,  his 
hope,  love,  and  faith  reel.  Impair  them  still  more 
and  he  becomes  a  brute.  A  cup  of  drink  degrades 
his  moral  nature  below  that  of  a  swine.  A  lancet  will 
restore  him  from  delirium  to  clear  thought.  Excess 
of  thought  will  waste  his  muscles.  An  emotion  will 
double  the  strength  of  his  muscles.  And  at  last  the 
prick  of  a  needle,  or  a  grain  of  mineral  will,  in  an  in- 
stant, lay  to  rest  forever  his  body  and  its  unity,  and 
all  the  spontaneous  activities  of  intelligence,  feeling, 


THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST.      35 

and  action  with  which  that  compound  organism  was 
charged."  ^ 

So  far  science  can  go,  because  science  has  the 
instruments  that  are  needful  to  investigate  the  pro- 
cesses. But  it  cannot  go  beyond  this  and  tell  us 
that  man  is  simply  an  organism,  that  it  is  the  body 
that  thinks  and  feels  and  wills,  that  '*  imagination 
is  simply  the  vibration  of  a  particular  fibre,"  that 
love  and  joy  and  hope  are  simply  the  results  of 
physiological  changes.  Science  has  no  instruments 
by  which  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  these  deeper  things. 
Nor  can  science  show  us  that  our  longings  for  im- 
mortality are  delusive,  or  that  the  sense  of  respon- 
sibility is  idle;  that  our  longings  after  God,  even 
the  living  God,  that  the  earnestness  of  prayer,  the 
raptures  of  devotion,  the  faith  of  the  Christian,  are 
all  vain. 

Natural  science  can  never,  by  searching,  find  out 
God.  It  has  no  instrument  by  which  to  take  the 
dimensions  of  a  soul.  It  cannot  weigh  a  thought,  or 
analyze  an  affection.  It  cannot  tell  us  why  music 
pleases  us,  why  falsehood  excites  our  reprobation, 
why  virtue  wins  our  approval,  or  why  we  turn  towards 
the  Power  above  when  flesh  and  heart  are  failing 
us.  It  is  one  of  the  best  results  of  investigation  to 
recognize  the  limitations  of  our  faculties.  Up  to 
those  limitations  we  can  go,  with  a  prospect  of  gain- 
ing real  knowledge;  but  it  is  idle  for  finite  man 
to  try  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  reason  and 
understanding. 

1  The  Soul  and  the  Future  Life,  in  <«  The  Nineteenth  Century," 
June,  1877. 


36     THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST. 

IV. 

We  should  add  to  this  consideration  the  fact  that 
tJie  positive  evidence  which  supports  oitr  belief  in  the  su- 
pernatural is  such  as  onght  to  carry  us  over  all  the 
difficulties  which  can  arise  in  science  or  philosophy. 

For  that  evidence  has  its  own  independent  basis. 
It  comes  from  our  moral  being,  and  no  evidence 
from  natural  science  or  speculation  can  touch  that. 
We  know  of  colors  by  sight;  we  know  of  sounds  by 
hearing;  we  judge  of  the  beautiful  by  our  aesthetic 
nature.  So  we  judge  of  that  which  is  spiritual  by 
our  moral  and  religious  nature. 

God  has  not  left  us  to  find  out  spiritual  truth  by 
reasoning,  any  more  than  He  has  left  us  to  find  out 
our  food  by  chemical  analysis.  Our  natural  instincts 
teach  us  to  eat,  and  a  deeper  spiritual  instinct  teaches 
us  to  turn  towards  the  Power  above  us.  The  reality 
of  religion  never  can  depend  upon  long  and  intricate 
argument.  For  then  nobody  could  gain  a  knowl- 
edge of  that  which  is  religious  until  he  was  able  to 
argue.  But  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  for  little  chil- 
dren,—  for  the  wayfaring  man.  It  is  not  a  phi- 
losophy. The  little  child  sees  the  beauty  of  a  flower, 
and  is  delighted  with  it.  So  that  same  child  sees 
that  it  ought  to  do  what  is  right,  and  feels  that  it 
ought  not  to  do  wrong,  and  that  it  deserves  to  be 
blamed  when  it  has  done  wrong.  And  when  you  tell 
the  child  that  God  is  good,  and  that  He  would  have 
all  of  us  do  right,  its  mind  is  already  prepared  for  the 
truth.  The  idea  of  God  only  waits  to  be  developed. 
As  the  mind  enlarges,  these  ideas  of  God  and  of  duty 


THE  FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST.      37 

and  of  responsibility  develop  more  and  more.  It  is 
these  ideas  which  have  to  do  with  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord.  And  children  are  nearer  to  God  than  the 
rest  of  us,  because  these  moral  ideas  are  with  them 
so  fresh  and  so  controlling. 

These  moral  and  religious  ideas  have  had  more  to 
do  with  the  history  of  the  human  mind  than  all  other 
ideas.  Are  not  the  oldest  monuments  connected 
with  religion?  Is  not  the  oldest  poetry  full  of  re- 
ligious ideas?  Are  not  the  three  greatest  epic  poems 
the  world  possesses  pervaded  by  a  sense  of  the  super- 
natural? Take  the  great  dramas  of  Sophocles,  of 
Shakespeare,  and  of  Goethe,  —  are  they  not  full  of 
the  deepest  moral  elements?  In  Macbeth,  as  one 
has  recently  said,  ''  the  main  thing  is  not  that  Dun- 
can the  murdered  king  is  dead,  but  that  Macbeth  the 
murderer  lives ;  not  that  Duncan  sleeps,  but  that 
Macbeth  can  sleep  no  more."  ^  So  ''  it  is  conscience 
that  doth  make  cowards  of  us  all."  So  it  is  that 
"the  dread  of  something  after  death  puzzles  the 
will,"  and  holds  us  back  from  the  evil  we  desire  to 
do.  Remorse  poisons  all  the  sources  of  pleasure. 
The  desire  for  the  favor  of  God  leads  men  every- 
where to  send  up  their  prayers  to  heaven,  and  offer 
their  gifts  and  sacrifices  upon  the  altars.  The  very 
deepest  experiences  of  human  life  grow  out  of  the 
sense  of  spiritual  relations,  and  the  longings  for 
spiritual   perfection. 

Can  we  suppose  that  all  this  is  a  delusion?  Can 
we  believe  that  these  deepest  thoughts,  these  high- 
est   aspirations,    these    purest    affections    are    vain? 

1  Questions  of  Belief,  p.  341. 


38      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE  KINGDOM   OF  CHRIST. 

Say,  rather,  that  the  things  you  see  and  handle  are 
illusions;  that  the  voices  you  hear  come  from  no- 
where; that  the  things  you  taste  are  non-existent; 
that  there  are  no  such  things  as  beautiful  forms 
and  sweet  sounds;  that  all  knowledge  is  delusive 
and  vain.  Say  this,  say  anything  rather  than  that 
these  deep  thoughts  and  feelings  and  experiences, 
these  longings  for  immortality,  these  prayers  return- 
ing with  blessings  to  our  souls,  these  hours  of  com- 
munion with  God  are  delusions.  Be  it  that  we  are 
mocked  and  befooled  by  the  sight  of  our  eyes,  and 
the  hearing  of  our  ears,  and  by  all  the  action  of 
our  intellects;  but  let  it  not  be  that  these  highest, 
holiest,  divinest  movements  of  spiritual  life  are  only 
mocking  and  deceiving  us. 

It  is  very  true  there  are  perplexities  concerning 
these  spiritual  truths.  It  is  easy  for  ingenious  rea- 
soners  to  exaggerate  these  difficulties.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  us  to  be  able  to  clear  them  all  away. 
A  child  can  raise  questions  which  a  philosopher  can- 
not solve.  A  skilful  rhetorician  can  easily  place 
these  difficulties  in  a  very  striking  light.  "  Words," 
says  old  Homer,  "  make  this  way  and  that  way,  — 
great  is  the  power  of  words ;  "  but  these  moral 
instincts  which  are  born  with  us,  these  rehgious 
ideas  which  are  always  making  themselves  felt, 
whether  we  will  or  not,  are  the  most  permanent 
of  facts.  Many  a  humble  Christian,  who  cannot 
begin  to  reply  to  the  objections  of  scientific  unbe- 
lief, furnishes  in  his  own  life  an  evidence  of  the 
reality  of  spiritual  religion  which  these  objectors 
cannot  gainsay. 


THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST.      39 

**  The  kingdom  of  God  is  among  you."  Religion 
is  of  the  heart.  It  is  the  communion  of  a  devout 
mind  with  God.  It  is  thus  its  own  evidence.  "  We 
speak  that  we  know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen." 
It  is  an  experience.  Even  if  the  Bible  could  be  dis- 
credited and  destroyed,  the  grounds  of  religion  would 
remain.  They  existed  before  there  was  any  Bible. 
As  long  as  men  can  come  into  communication  with 
God,  in  a  direct  and  personal  way,  with  their  weak- 
ness and  their  sin,  religion  will  exist. 

The  strength  and  permanence  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  depend  upon  this :  that  the  Bible  interprets 
these  deepest  moral  feelings  of  ours,  and  interprets 
them  correctly.  The  teaching  of  Christ  commends 
itself  to  the  ethical  nature  of  man.  If  it  did  not,  he 
could  not  receive  it  as  divine.  For  it  is  impossible 
for  a  man  to  receive  any  doctrine  of  religion  which 
he  perceives  to  be  contrary  to  reason  or  to  morality. 
But  it  is  the  strength  of  the  Christian  religion  that  it 
commends  itself  "  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the 
sight  of  God." 

These  are  the  reasons  why  the  attacks  of  unbelief 
upon  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  have  been  so  unsuc- 
cessful. If  men  have  been  disposed  to  yield  to  them 
for  a  time,  their  own  spiritual  wants  have  brought 
them  back  again  to  the  Faith.  This  is  the  reason 
why  we  may  confidently  expect  that  the  religion 
of  Christ  Avill  extend  over  the  world.  If  it  were 
a-  speculation,  a  dogma,  a  science,  it  might  come 
to  naught.  But  as  it  appeals  to  the  deepest  and 
most  spiritual  part  of  us,  it  must  live.     It  will  win 


40      THE   FUTURE   OF  THE   KINGDOM   OF   CHRIST. 

its  way  to  the  hearts  of  menr  Those  •'  who  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden  "  will  seek  this  rest  for  their  souls. 
Those  who  carry  the  burdens  of  sin  will  behold  Him 
"  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  And  all 
those  who  seek  communion  with  infinite  purity  and 
love  will  come  unto  the  All-Father  for  peace  and  par- 
don and  eternal  life.  In  their  lighter  moods  men  will 
still  say,  "  Lo,  here !  "  or  '*  Lo,  there !  "  but  in  their 
seasons  of  profoundest  feeling  they  will  come  to  Him 
who  ''  is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all  who  come 
unto  God  by  Him."  **  His  kingdom  is  an  everlast- 
ing kingdom,  and  His  dominion  is  from  generation 
to  generation." 


III. 


LOVE   TO    CHRIST,  THE   TRUE   MOTIVE    IN 
THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 


III. 

LOVE   TO   CHRIST   THE   TRUE    MOTIVE   IN 
THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

For  the  love  of  Christ  co7istrameth  us.  —  2  CoR.  v.  14. 

By  the  love  of  Christ  in  this  passage,  we  are  to 
understand  Christ's  love  for  us.  This  love  seemed 
to  the  Apostle  so  great  that  it  ought  to  rule  his  life. 
Since  Christ  has  died  for  us,  "  they  which  live  should 
no  longer  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  who 
for  their  sakes  died  and  rose  again."  This  motive, 
St.  Paul  says,  held  him  in  bonds, — shut  him  in  from 
the  lower  and  personal  objects  of  life.  He  had 
spoken  before  of  the/^<^rof  the  Lord  —  or,  as  the  older 
version  has  it,  **  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  "  —  as  a  mo- 
tive, for  he  says,  *' We  must  all  appear  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ ;  "  but,  after  all,  it  is  love  and 
not  fear  that  directs  his   life. 

The  best  illustration  of  the  meaning  of  the  text  is 
the  story  of  Paul's  own  life.  We  can  trace  the  his- 
tory of  his  Christian  enthusiasm.  We  know  the  day 
and  the  hour  when  his  love  for  Christ  began.  We 
know  what  sort  of  man  he  was  before,  and  what  he 
became  afterwards.  The  earnestness  of  his  preach- 
ing, his  disregard  of  personal  interest,  the  zeal  that 


44  LOVE  TO   CHRIST. 

was  never  dampened,  the  courage  with  which  he 
faced  danger  and  persecution,  —  all  show  that  the 
ruling  power  in  his  life  was  gratitude  and  love  to  the 
divine  Redeemer.  It  was  not  chiefly  interest  in  a 
great  cause.  Nor  was  it  mainly  the  impulse  of  hu- 
manity. His  addresses  and  his  epistles  show  that 
the  ruling  power  in  his  life  was  love  for  the  Christ. 
He  speaks  of  himself  as  '*  the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ," 
''  called  to  be  an  apostle,"  ''  separated  unto  the  gos- 
pel of  God."i  He  gave  his  whole  heart  to  Christ 
in  return  for  the  fulness  of  divine  love  which  he 
found  in  Him,  and  this  changed  not  only  the  plan 
of  his  life,  but  also  his  personal  character,  and  made 
him  a  patient,  humble,  and  self-denying  apostle  and 
missionary. 

The  text  will  lead  me  to  speak  of  The  Love  of  Christ 
as  the  true  motive  in  the  Christian  life. 

I. 

I  begin  by  saying  that  there  is  no  true  obedience 
to  God  except  that  which  is  free  and  hearty.  God  is 
love,  and  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  His  law.  The  great 
commandment  is :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  "- 
A  reHgion  of  fear  does  not  meet  this  requirement,  nor 
a  religion  of  duty,  nor  a  religion  that  springs  from 
self-interest.  One  child  in  a  family  may  be  obedi- 
ent because  he  is  afraid  of  punishment,  another  be- 
cause he  expects  a  reward,  and  a  third  because  he 
feels    that  it  would  be  wrong  to   disobey.     But  the 

1  Romans  i.  i.  2  g^^  Mark  xii.  31. 


LOVE  TO   CHRIST.  45 

really  dutiful  child  obeys  his  father  and  his  mother 
because  he  loves  them.  His  motive  is  not  fear,  or 
self-interest,  or  duty,  but  affection.  He  fears  nothing 
so  much  as  to  grieve  them.  He  desires  nothing  so 
much  as  to  please  them.  His  duty  is  his  delight, 
because  his  heart  is  in  it.  Love  is  the  true  basis  of 
religion,  —  love  to  God,  our  Father,  the  purest  and 
best  of  beings.  This  must  have  been  the  original  reli- 
gion of  mankind,  which  bound  them  to  the  Creator  as 
dutiful  and  loving  children. 

This  was  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament.  God 
chose  Israel  as  His  own  people,  and  sought  to  lead 
them  to  do  His  will,  as  the  expression  of  their  grati- 
tude and  affection.  So  far  as  they  were  really  His 
people,  they  entered  into  this  religion  of  love.  Abra- 
ham beheved  God,  and  his  faith  was  a  loving  trust  in 
Him.  David  said,  ''As  the  hart  panteth  after  the 
water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  Thee,  O 
God."  ^  The  Psalms  reveal  the  same  struggles  with 
sin,  and  the  same  sense  of  dependence  upon  God's 
mercy,  and  the  same  trust  in  His  love,  that  a  devout 
Christian  feels,  so  that  they  are  the  best  means  we 
have  to  express  all  the  phases  of  a  Christian  experi- 
ence. The  religion  of  the  prophets  was  also  a  re- 
ligion of  love.  God  revealed  Himself  to  draw  them 
by  the  excellence  of  His  character. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  religions  of  the  heathen 
have  been,  for  the  most  part,  religions  of  fear  and  sel- 
fishness, or,  at  the  best,  religions  of  duty.  There 
has  been  no  love  in  them.  Men  have  always  felt 
dependent.     Many  of  the   evils  they  suffer  are   ob- 

1  Psalms  xlii.  i. 


46  LOVE  TO   CHRIST. 

scure  and  mysterious,  and  imagination  creates  for 
our  minds  unseen  agents  and  powers  of  evil,  and  fear 
has  led  to  the  cruel  rites  of  paganism.  Conscience 
has  added  to  the  fears  of  men.  St.  Paul  saw  men  all 
about  him  who  were  governed  by  such  motives  as 
these  in  their  religious  services.  When  he  stood  on 
Mars  Hill  he  did  not  address  a  people  without  re- 
ligious ideas,  for  he  was  surrounded  by  the  most 
beautiful  temples  the  world  has  ever  seen;  but  a 
people  whose  religious  ideas  needed  to  be  corrected 
by  the  teachings  of  Christ.  The  world  was  full  of 
religions  —  such  as  they  were  —  before  Christ  came. 
What  He  added  to  religion  was  not  so  much  new 
truths  as  a  fuller  revelation  of  the  love  of  God.  He 
was  able  to  bring  God  so  near  to  men  that  His  love 
now  rules  their  lives. 


II. 

Let  us  see,  in  the  next  place,  How  Christ  re- 
vealed God  to  men.  We  may  take  St.  Paul  as  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  more  enlightened  men  of  his  time. 
He  knew  God  before  he  had  any  knowledge  of  the 
personal  Christ,  for  he  was  familiar  with  the  Old 
Testament,  and  especially  with  God's  dealings  with 
Israel ;  and  with  the  sacrifices,  and  all  the  services 
of  the  temple.  He  knew  God  not  only  as  He  is  re- 
vealed in  nature  and  in  conscience,  but  he  knew  Him 
as  the  Leader  of  His  people,  their  Lawgiver,  and 
their  moral  Governor.  He  did  not  need  another 
prophet  to  reveal  God.  All  that  prophets  could  do 
to  this  end  had  been  done  by  those  wonderful  men 


LOVE   TO    CHRIST.  47 

whose  inspired  writings  were  read  in  the  synagogues 
every  Sabbath  day.  Nor  did  St.  Paul  need  new 
miracles  to  authenticate  God's  revelation.  The  one 
thing  that  he  did  need  was  to  bring  these  truths  so 
near  to  his  heart  that  they  would  mould  his  character 
and  control  his  life.  In  order  to  do  this,  Paul  needed, 
in  some  way,  to  come  nearer  to  God  as  a  personal 
Friend  and  Helper. 

This  is  what  the  Incarnation  does.  He  who  "  was 
in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  who  was  God,"  "  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth."  ^  We  count  our  years  from 
the  day  of  His  birth,  because  that  day  marks  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era.  The  angels  sang  "  peace  on 
earth,  good  will  to  men,"  because  a  Saviour  was  born. 
The  leading  fact  in  redemption,  on  which  all  the  rest 
depends,  is  the  fact  that  the  Son  of  God  became  the 
Son  of  Man  so  as  to  reveal  God  to  men  more  per- 
fectly. In  this  sense,  it  is  no  doubt  true  that  it  is 
not  so  much  the  work  of  Christ  that  is  important 
as  the  Person  of  Christ,  — the  fact  that  "  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,"  that  He 
who  is  the  ''  effulgence  of  His  glory  and  the  very  image 
of  His  substance  "  ^  took  our  nature,  and  became  our 
Brother,  bearing  our  griefs  and  our  sorrows.  He  did 
this,  we  are  told  again  and  again,  so  as  to  commend 
the  love  of  God  unto  us.  In  very  deed,  "  though  He 
was  rich,  for  our  sakes  He  became  poor,  that  we, 
through  His  poverty  might  become  rich."^  This  is 
what  He  always   claimed,  that  His  Father  had  sent 

1  St.  John  i.  14.  2  Heb.  i.  3.  ^2  Cor.  viii.  9. 


48  LOVE  TO    CHRIST. 

Him,  because  He  loved  sinful  men,  and  desired  to 
save  them.  He  said,  *'  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath 
seen  the  Father,"  and  He  taught  that  "  men  should 
honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor  the  Father." 
This,  then,  is  the  great  fact  in  respect  to  the  life  of 
our  Lord :  that  the  Son  of  God  became  flesh,  and 
dwelt  with  men,  that  he  might  in  that  way  reveal 
God  to  them. 

As  we  read  the  Gospels,  we  are  impressed,  first  of 
all,  with  the  reality  of  His  life.  He  was  as  truly 
human  as  He  was  divine.  He  did  not  come  among 
men  as  a  full-grown  man,  but  as  an  infant.  He  did  not 
separate  Himself  from  the  experiences  of  a  common 
human  life,  but  He  was  born  into  a  family ;  He  was 
subject  unto  His  parents,  as  other  children  are ;  He 
increased  in  wisdom  and  in  stature  ;  He  went,  "  as  His 
custom  was,  to  the  synagogue  "  on  the  Sabbath  day. 

If  the  Son  of  God  were  to  live  among  men,  to 
reveal  God  to  them.  He  would  need  to  enter  very 
fully  into  the  expe^'iences  of  men.  He  could  have 
been  born  in  a  palace,  and  lived  the  life  of  a  prince. 
Or  He  could  have  been  born  into  a  home  of  wealth, 
and  lived  in  luxury,  apart  from  the  masses  of  men. 
Or  He  could  have  been  such  a  man  as  John  the 
Baptist,  who  dwelt  in  the  deserts,  and  shunned  the 
companionship  of  men,  and  the  pure  joys  of  life. 
But  the  life  of  Jesus  touched  the  common  lives  of 
men  at  the  greatest  number  of  points.  He  did  not 
shield  himself  from  the  experiences  of  common  men 
by  wealth,  or  rank,  or  station.  He  was  a  man  of  the 
people ;  born  in  poverty,  as  the  largest  number  of 
men    have    been.       He    shared    the    conditions    of  a 


LOVE  TO    CHRIST.  49 

humble  home,  in  a  small  country  town ;  and  in  His 
later  life,  He  had  not  even  such  a  place  as  that  to 
shelter  Him.  It  is  true  that  when  He  was  trans- 
figured, ''  His  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  His  gar- 
ments became  white  as  the  light."  ^  But  this  was 
only  once  in  His  lifetime.  For  the  rest,  He  lived 
with  the  common  people  and  wore  the  dress  of  a 
common  man,  and  shared  the  food  of  fishermen,  and 
ate  with  publicans  and  sinners.  He  was  not  a  man 
of  exclusive  tastes,  or  of  narrow  sympathies.  He 
went,  not  only  to  the  dwellings  of  the  poor,  but  to 
the  homes  of  the  rich ;  not  only  to  places  of  sorrow, 
but  into  scenes  of  festivity.  He  was  a  true  Son  of 
man,  linked  with  the  highest  and  with  the  lowest, 
in  full  sympathy  with  little  children,  and  with 
young  men,  and  with  all  such  as  suffer,  and  with 
the  tempted  and  the  fallen ;  and  His  gracious  words 
as  truly  as  His  gracious  acts  revealed  in  a  hu- 
man life  the  wonderful  love  of  God.  It  was  by 
this  life  among  men  that  Jesus  was  fitted  to  bear 
our  sins.  We  do  not  understand  the  Atonement 
until  we  understand  the  deep  meaning  of  the  life  of 
our  Lord.  He  was  fitted  to  bear  our  sins,  because 
he  had  first  borne  our  griefs  and  our  sorrows.  He 
made  Himself  an  offering  for  sin  by  His  own  volun- 
tary act,  showing  how  much  God  loved  us  by  taking 
our  condemnation,  and  honoring  the  justice  of  God 
by  His  sacrificial  death. 

There  is  no  other  thing  that  awakens  so  deep  an 
interest  in  us  as  the  experiences  of  a  brother  man. 
We  see  the  evidences  of  God's  goodness  and  wisdom 

1  St.  Matthew  xvii.  4. 
4 


50  LOVE  TO   CHRIST. 

in  nature ;  we  read  the  revelations  He  has  made  in 
the  older  Scriptures ;  but  they  do  not  touch  us  very 
deeply.  But  when  we  come  to  know  the  love  of  God 
in  sending  His  Son  to  die  for  us,  as  a  man  may  die 
for  his  friend,  then  *'  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth 
us." 

Some  time  ago  I  studied  a  painting,  by  an  Ameri- 
can artist,  which  is  called  "  The  Heart  of  the  Andes." 
I  was  impressed  at  once  by  the  grandeur  of  the 
mountains.  My  eye  followed  the  valleys  that  opened 
on  this  side  and  on  that,  —  valleys  shadowed  by 
mountains  that  seemed  to  bear  up  the  very  heavens. 
It  was  a  view  of  nature  in  her  loftier  moods.  But,  after 
all,  the  picture  is  cold,  and  fails  to  kindle  one's  ima- 
gination until  he  looks  at  the  hunter's  cabin  in  the 
foreground,  from  which  the  smoke  of  the  morning 
fire  is  rising,  and  at  the  hunters  themselves,  who 
stand  leaning  on  their  rifles,  looking  down  the  valley. 
That  glimpse  of  human  life,  in  those  awful  solitudes, 
touches  deeper  sympathies  than  nature  can  move; 
aye,  that  life  adds  sublimity  to  the  mountains  them- 
selves, because  their  shadows  fall  on  living  men. 

God  has  painted  for  us  on  the  great  historic  can- 
vas of  this  world  a  picture  which  is  to  reveal  His 
goodness.  It  is  very  beautiful,  full  of  the  tokens  of 
His  wisdom  and  goodness.  He  hung  up  the  picture 
that  men  might  study  it,  and  might  see  His  glory. 
But  they  did  not  regard  it.  They  worshipped  idols, 
the  work  of  their  own  hands.  After  a  few  centuries 
the  divine  Artist  retouched  the  picture,  bringing  out 
new  and  more  wonderful  illustrations  of  His  holiness 
and  His  love.     But  still  the  world  passed  it  by.     In 


LOVE   TO   CHRIST.  5 1 

the  fulness  of  time,  God  painted,  in  the  foreground 
of  the  picture,  a  human  form,  — the  form  of  the  well- 
beloved  Son ;  a  '*  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief;"  **  His  visage  so  marred,  more  than  any 
man,  and  His  form  more  than  the  sons  of  men,"  ^  and 
this  divine  Man  is  pointing  to  His  own  Cross,  and 
telling  those  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  to  come 
unto  Him,  and  find  rest  for  their  souls.  And  now 
the  old  picture  stirs  the  world,  according  to  Christ's 
own  words,  "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  ^  That  one  sensitive, 
personal  Being,  divine  and  yet  human,  our  Lord  and 
yet  our  Brother,  who  loves  us  with  all  a  brother's 
affection,  brings  God  near  to  us.  One  real  look  at 
the  cross  must  melt  any  human  heart.  And  so  the 
love  of  Christ  is  subduing  the  world  unto  Him.  God 
is  so  near  that  He  draws  us,  and  we  follow  Him. 
His  love  kindles  our  love,  and  we  become  His  chil- 
dren because  we  are  the  children  of  His  love,  for 
"whosoever  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth 
God,  for  God  is  love."  ^ 

HI. 

We  come,  then,  in  the  last  place,  to  consider 
How  the  love  of  Christ  has  directed  the  lives  of  His 
disciples. 

Here,  too,  we  may  well  go  back  to  the  times  of 
the  Apostles,  and  see  how  they  presented  Christ,  and 
how  the  early  Christians  received  Him.  It  is  very 
plain  that  the  great  effort  of  the  Apostles  was  to  pre- 

1  Isa.  liii.  3.  2  gt;_  John  xii.  32.  ^  j  John  iv.  7. 


52  LOVE  TO    CHRIST. 

sent  the  personal  Christ  to  men.  It  was  not  a  system 
of  philosophy  or  of  doctrines  which  they  preached, 
nor  a  new  organization,  but  a  Saviour  whom  they 
had  seen,  and  whose  teachings  they  were  able  to 
repeat.  *' We  are  His  witnesses,"  they  said.  He  has 
called  us,  and  sent  us  to  you.  His  is  the  only  name 
by  which  you  can  be  saved.  *'  I  determined  to  know 
nothing  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ."  ^  In  fact,  the 
name  which  was  naturally  given  to  the  disciples  was 
Christians,  as  the  personal  followers  of  the  Christ. 

You  will  call  to  mind  also  that  this  is  the  way  in 
which  our  Saviour  Himself  talked  to  men.  The 
most  common  direction  He  gave  was  this  :  "  Follow 
me."  ''I  am  the  Way,"  He  said,  ''and  the  Truth, 
and  the  life."  ^  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come 
unto  me."  **  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor,  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  ^  Moses 
did  not  teach  men  so.  Samuel  did  not.  None  of 
the  prophets  would  have  dared  to  teach  men  to  come 
unto  them  for  rest  and  salvation.  They  called  upon 
men  to  obey  the  commands  of  God,  and  to  do  His 
will.  But  Christ  called  men  to  Himself  He  called 
for  their  supreme  devotion.  They  must  leave  all 
else  for  His  sake.  They  must  not  count  their  lives 
dear  unto  themselves.  "  If  any  man  will  be  my  dis- 
ciple let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  the  cross  and 
follow  me."^ 

This  personal  devotion  to  Christ  has  characterized 
the  lives  of  Christians  in  all  the  periods  of  spiritual 
prosperity.     The   early  disciples  confessed  Him  be- 

1  I  Cor.  ii.  2.  3  St.  Matthew  xi.  28. 

2  St.  John  xiv.  6.  '^  St.  Matthew  xvi.  24. 


LOVE  TO   CHRIST.  53 

fore  their  persecutors.  They  went  to  their  martyr- 
dom because  they  would  not  deny  Him.  "  Eighty 
and  six  years  have  I  served  Him,"  said  Polycarp, 
"  and  He  has  always  been  my  Helper,  and  shall  I  now 
deny  Him  to  save  my  life?"^  The  early  hymns  of 
the  Church  are  full  of  this  tender  personal  devotion. 
The  early  confessions  and  creeds  place  Christ  in 
the  centre,  as  the  one  object  of  faith  and  love.  The 
early  missionaries  went  forth  only  in  His  name,  to 
make  known  the  Saviour  to  the  pagans. 

It  was  only  as  religion  declined  that  the  attention 
of  men  was  absorbed  in  the  Church  as  a  great  or- 
ganization, and  in  systems  of  doctrine,  and  in  methods 
of  worship.  Whenever  the  life  of  piety  has  been  re- 
kindled in  the  Church,  the  love  of  Christ  has  revived, 
and  He  has  become  again  the  one  object  of  love  and 
of  faith. 

This  love  always  leads  to  personal  devotion.  The 
disciple  gives  his  whole  heart  to  the  Redeemer.  His 
love  becomes  an  enthusiasm.  It  never  counts  the 
cost.  It  begins  by  giving  all.  So  that  the  love  of 
Christ  has  shown  itself  to  be,  by  far,  the  most  pow- 
erful motive  of  human  action.  It  has  been  stronger 
than  the  love  of  wealth,  for  many  have  made  them- 
selves poor  for  Christ's  sake.  It  has  been  stronger 
than  the  love  of  friends  or  of  country,  for  many  have 
left  father,  and  mother,  and  native  land,  to  preach 
Christ  to  the  heathen.  In  fact,  there  is  no  heroism 
in  this  world  except  that  which  is  inspired  by  love, 
and  there  is  no  sort  of  heroism  so  common  or  so 
grand  as  that  which  is  inspired  by  the  love  of  Christ. 
1  Ante-Nicene  Christian  Fathers,  vol.  i.,  p.  88. 


54  LOVE  TO    CHRIST. 

This  love  also  unites  tis  with  Christ.  Faith  reveals 
God  and  spiritual  things  to  the  believer,  so  that  he 
knows  God  and  Christ  according  to  these  profound 
words  of  our  Lord :  *'  This  is  life  eternal,  that 
they  might  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent."  ^  It  is  only  in 
this  way  of  love  and  trust  that  we  can  know  Him 
whom  we  have  not  seen,  and  know  the  things  that 
are  spiritual.  It  is  not  by  the  understanding,  with 
its  slow  processes,  but  by  a  direct  beholding,  when  the 
heart  is  opened  to  God,  and  He  reveals  Himself  to  us, 
that  we  gain  a  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  spiritual, 
which  uplifts  us  from  the  earth,  and  fills  us  with  long- 
ing for  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed. 

This  personal  love  for  Christ  also  leads  to  the  con- 
fidence of  faith.  Perfect  love  casteth  out  fear.  *'  We 
live  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible,"  and  ''  we  know 
that  nothing  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  His 
love,  neither  things  present,  nor  things  to  come." 

Thus  we  see  that  true  religion  has  its  beginning  in 
God's  love  for  us,  and  that  love  is  its  very  life  and 
soul.  "  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,"  because 
He  revealed  the  very  heart  of  God,  and  that  love 
draws  us  towards  God  by  an  attraction  constant  as 
that  which  holds  the  suns  and  constellations  in  their 
revolutions   about  the  central  throne. 

This  is  a  truth  concerning  the  essential  thing  in 
our  religion  which  men  are  always  forgetting.  They 
are  apt  to  think  of  some  experiences,  or  some  out- 
ward duties,  when  they  should  think  of  union  with 

1  St.  John  xvii.  3. 


LOVE  TO   CHRIST.  55 

Christ.  There  have  been  times  when  it  was  more 
common  to  appeal  to  the  fears  and  the  selfish  desires 
of  men,  than  to  their  consciences  and  their  hearts. 
The  progress  of  religion  in  our  day  is  indicated  by 
the  emphasis  which  the  pulpit  now  places  upon  the 
motives  that  come  from  the  love  of  Christ.  Our 
modern  theology  gives  Christ  the  central  position, 
and  exalts  the  cross  to  the  highest  place  among  the 
motives  to  lead  men  from  lives  of  sin. 

I  think,  too,  that  the  emphasis  which  is  now  placed 
upon  the  love  of  Christ  is  making  the  religious  hfe 
more  cheerful  and  more  fruitful.  It  is  adding  to  the 
gentleness,  and  generosity,  and  consecration  of  Chris- 
tians. It  is  making  our  methods  of  worship  more 
simple,  and  is  leading  to  a  new  interest  in  the  service 
of  song.  It  is  drawing  the  children  to  the  Saviour, 
and  is  filling  the  land  with  Societies  of  Christian 
Endeavor.  It  is  bringing  the  branches  of  the  divided 
Church  into  a  closer  union.  This  love,  which  was 
kindled  by  the  love  of  Christ,  is  sending  missionaries 
to  every  tribe  and  nation.  This  love  for  Christ  is 
yet  to  overcome  the  evil  of  the  world,  and  to  lead 
greater  masses   of  men  to   holiness  and   to  God. 

Let  us  enter  with  all  our  hearts  into  this  life  of 
love.  Let  us  seek  to  come  so  near  to  the  heart  of 
our  Redeemer,  that  we  "  being  rooted  and  grounded 
in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all  saints 
what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height ; 
and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowl- 
edge, that  we  may  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of 
God."  1 

1  Ephesians  iii.  19. 


IV. 

CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 


IV. 

CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

A  Man  of  sorrows^  and  acquainted  with  grief. 

Isaiah  liii.  3. 

The  prophet  was  writing  a  great  while  before  the 
Saviour  was  born  of  what  God  had  revealed  to  him 
concerning  the  expected  Redeemer.  Isaiah  was  per- 
mitted to  look  through  the  dim  vistas  of  seven  cen- 
turies, and  this  is  what  he  saw  at  the  end :  —  ''  his 
visage  was  so  marred  more  than  any  man,  and  his 
form  more  than  the  sons  of  men :  "  "  he  hath  no  form 
nor  comeHness:  and  when  we  see  him  there  is  no 
beauty  that  we  should  desire  him :  "  ''a  man  of  sor- 
sows  and  acquainted  with  grief."  ^  Abraham  had 
seen  his  day  long  before  and  had  rejoiced,  because 
that  through  Him  all  the  families  of  the  earth  would 
be  blessed.^  Moses  had  some  knowledge  of  His 
coming,  and  of  the  blessings  He  would  bring  to  His 
people.  So  had  David  and  Nathan  the  prophet. 
But  Isaiah  was  a  little  nearer  His  time,  and  his  vision 
was  more  distinct.  The  glory  of  the  golden  period 
in  the  history  of  Israel  had  faded.  The  Kingdom 
of  Solomon  had  been  divided,  and  at  last  the  ten 
tribes  had  gone  into  captivity.  Judah  only  remained, 
1  Isa.  Hi.  14;  liii.  2-3.  2  Genesis  xii.  3. 


6o  CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

and  her  power  was  diminishing.  It  was  natural  for 
the  Jews  to  look  with  increasing  interest  for  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Messiah,  who  was  expected  to  bring 
them  deliverance.  And  this  is  the  picture  revealed 
to  the  prophet;  the  only  distinct  view  which  any 
prophet  had  ever  gained :  —  the  suffering  Saviour, 
wounded  for  our  transgressions ;  bruised  for  our  ini- 
quities ;  on  whom  '^  the  Lord  hath  laid  the  iniquity 
of  us  all."-^  This  was  the  promised  Redeemer;  the 
Prince  of  the  house  of  David,  for  whose  advent  their 
fathers  had  been  praying  for  generations. 


I. 

Let  us  compare  this  prophetic  vision  of  the  expected 
Messiah  with  His  actual  life  in  the  world. 

Our  divine  Lord  accepted  a  heritage  of  sorrow  in 
taking  our  human  nature  with  its  limitations.  He 
who  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,^  who  ruled  the 
spiritual  world,  took  the  form  of  a  servant,  was  born 
of  a  woman,  became  an  infant  of  days,  and  from  His 
state  of  infancy,  "  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and 
in  favor  with  God  and  men."  ^  We  sometimes  say 
of  our  friends  who  have  gone  to  heaven,  that  we 
would  not  call  them  back  to  the  sorrows  of  this  life 
if  we  had  the  power.  But  what  is  the  blessedness 
they  would  leave  in  comparison  with  that  which  He 
left  when  "he  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us."* 
It  is  quite  impossible  for  us  to  measure  His  conde- 
scension.    He  laid  aside  His  glory.     He  came  under 

1  Isaiah  liii.  4-7.  ^  St.  Luke  ii.  52. 

2  St.  John  i.  2.  *  St.  John  i.  14. 


CHRIST,   THE  MAN   OF   SORROWS.  6 1 

the  law.  He  took  a  lower  place  as  Mediator,  so  that 
He  said  with  truth,  **  My  Father  is  greater  than  I."  ^ 
He  became  dependent  so  that  He  needed  to  pray; 
—  He,  in  whose  name  all  our  prayers  are  offered. 
He  was  hungry,  and  thirsty,  and  weary,  and  grieved, 
and  "  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are."  ^  "  Himself 
took  our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses."  ^ 

Add  to  this  His  lowly  condition.  The  highest 
condition  among  men  would  involve  infinite  conde- 
scension in  the  Son  of  God.  If  He  were  to  come  to 
this  world  at  all,  it  would  seem  fitting  that  He  should 
come  with  all  the  dignity  of  a  princely  birth,  in  the 
court  of  a  king.  If  there  be  any  value  in  these 
human  distinctions.  He  deserves  them  all.  But  how 
wide  the  contrast.  He  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  —  not 
in  Jerusalem.  "  There  was  no  room  for  them  in  the 
inn."  *  Mary  "  wrapped  him  in  swaddling  clothes,  and 
laid  Him  in  the  manger."^  They  had  to  flee  into 
Egypt  by  night.  When  Herod  was  dead  they  came 
and  dwelt  in  Nazareth ;  *'  Can  any  good  thing  come 
out  of  Nazareth?"^  He  was  known  sometimes  as 
the  carpenter's  son,  and  sometimes  as  the  carpenter. 
He  wore  the  dress  of  a  Galilean  peasant,  so  that  the 
scribes  wondered  that  one  of  such  an  appearance 
could  so  much  as  read.  "  Though  He  was  rich,  yet 
for  our  sakes  He  became  poor ; "  ^  and  it  meant  a 
great  deal  more  to  be  poor  at  that  time  in  Palestine 
than  it  means  here  and  now.  There  were  only  two 
classes  then,  and  the  gulf  between  the  rich  and  the 

1  St.  John  xiv.  28.  ^  Ibid. 

2  Hebrews  iv.  15.  °  St.  John  i.  46. 

3  St.  Matthew  viii.  17.  '  2  Cor.  viii.  9. 

4  St.  Luke  ii.  7. 


62  CHRIST,  THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

poor  was  very  wide.  Influence,  power,  entrance  to 
the  higher  circles,  —  these  were  for  the  rich ;  but 
for  the  common  people,  there  was  little  honor  or 
sympathy.  But  Jesus  took  His  place  among  them. 
His  companions  were  the  fishermen  of  Galilee.  He 
addressed  those  of  His  own  class.  "The  common 
people  heard  Him  gladly."  ^  But  He  was  poor  even 
among  the  lowly.  ''  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the 
birds  of  the  heaven  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head."  ^ 

And  then,  *'  He  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men." 
"  He  came  unto  His  own,  and  His  own  received  Him 
not."  ^  Many  of  those  who  followed  Him  for  a  time 
"  went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  Him,"  so  that 
He  said  to  His  disciples,  "will  ye  also  go  away?" 
Some  have  spoken  of  the  loneliness  of  Christ.  Very 
few,  even  of  His  disciples,  were  able  to  enter  into  the 
spiritual  truths  He  was  teaching.  They  were  "  slow 
of  heart  to  receive  all  that  the  prophets  had  spoken." 
There  was  no  one  in  all  the  world  able  to  appreciate 
the  revelation  He  was  making.  The  larger  number  of 
the  leaders  of  the  people  were  enemies  of  the  truth. 

So  that  Jesus  was  brought  at  every  step  into  con- 
tact with  sin.  It  had  never  taken  on  forms  so  atro- 
cious. It  added  to  His  sorrows  inasmuch  as  He  was 
revealing  the  love  of  God  towards  the  children  of 
men.  If  men  despised  and  rejected  Him,  it  went  to 
His  heart,  like  the  ingratitude  of  a  son  to  the  heart 
of  an  affectionate  father.  We  can  appreciate  the 
sorrows   of  Jesus  when  we  see  Him  at  the   close  of 

1  St.  Mark  xii.  37.  3  isa.  liii.  3:  St.  John  i.  11. 

2  St,  Matthew  viii.  20. 


CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS.  63 

His  ministry  of  love,  weeping  over  the  holy  city,  and 
saying :  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  .  .  .  how  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  .  .  . 
but  ye  would  not."  ^  Thus,  His  earthly  ministry 
ended  in  tears,  and  His  life  went  out  under  the 
shadow  of  a  great  sorrow. 

Add  to  this  life  of  sorrow  the  death  by  crucifixion. 
He  had  been  looking  forward  to  this  death  for  a  long 
time.  The  shadow  of  the  cross  was  over  Him  from 
the  beginning.  He  taught  His  disciples  that  He  had 
come  into  the  world  to  lay  down  His  life  for  men. 

So  that  the  prophetic  vision  did  not  mislead  the 
ancient  seer.  The  man  whom  he  saw  in  prophetic 
vision  was  to  be  pre-eminent  among  the  great  suf- 
ferers of  the  world  as  "  the  Man  of  sorrows." 

We  are  not  to  think  of  the  sorrows  of  the  Re- 
deemer as  mere  accidents  in  His  life.  He  came  to 
the  world  to  do  the  very  things  which  he  actually 
did.  All  possible  modes  of  life  were  open  to  His 
choice,  and  He  selected  the  life  of  humiliation  and 
poverty  and  persecution,  and  the  death  of  the  cross. 
"  No  man  taketh  it  away  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down 
of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have 
power  to  take  it  again."  ^ 

II. 

Why  was  this  way  of  life  chosen?    Why 

did  not  the  Saviour  of  the  world  follow  a  mode  of 

life  more  in  accordance  with   the  common  views  of 

reformers?     We  should  not  turn  aside  the  edge  of  the 

1  St.  Matthew  xxiii.  37.  ^  St.  John  x.  18. 


64  CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

question,  for  it  points  us  towards  the  distinctive  work 
of  the  Redeemer. 

Why  did  not  Jesus  come  as  a  philosopher,  hke 
Confucius,  or  Hke  Socrates,  or  Hke  some  of  the  lead- 
ers of  thought  in  our  day,  who  believe  that  the  world 
is  to  be  saved  by  wisdom?  Why  did  He  not  come 
as  an  inventor  to  apply  the  advancing  knowledge  of 
the  world  to  the  practical  arts  of  life?  He  might 
have  brought  in  the  printing-press  fourteen  hundred 
years  earlier  than  it  came ;  and  the  mariner's  com- 
pass, and  even  steamboats,  and  railways,  and  tele- 
graphs, and  telephones.  He  could  have  set  forward 
civilization  in  these  ways,  and  developed  commerce, 
and  awakened  the  human  mind  to  the  study  of 
nature?  Why  did  He  not  do  these  things  if  the 
highest  wants  of  men  are  to  be  met  in  that  way? 

How  different  a  life  the  Redeemer  would  have  had 
if  He  had  become  a  geologist, — teaching  His  dis- 
ciples to  read  ''  the  testimony  of  the  rocks ;  "  or  if 
He  had  become  a  biologist,  tracing  the  course  of 
life  from  the  primordial  germ  up  through  all  the 
stages  of  its  development  to  a  perfected  manhood ; 
or  if  He  had  become  a  great  poet  like  Shakespeare, 
or  a  great  statesman,  or  a  jurist  who  could  teach 
men  to  reconstruct  the  decaying  framework  of  society 
upon  the  basis  of  personal  freedom  and  repubHcan 
government ;  or  if  He  had  been  a  great  warrior,  as 
David  was,  and  had  brought  the  surrounding  nations 
under  the  sway  of  Israel,  and  sent  out  the  truth  of 
God  among  the  nations  by  means  of  conquest? 

To  my  mind  these  inquiries  point  the  way  to  the 
distinctive  features   of  the  method  by  which  God  is 


CHRIST,   THE  MAN  OF   SORROWS.  65 

seeking  to  save  the  lost  world.  Unroll,  if  you  please, 
the  scroll  of  history,  and  read  the  names  of  the  elect 
geniuses  of  the  race.  Here  is  an  eloquent  orator, 
there  is  a  teacher  of  wisdom,  a  leader  and  comman- 
der of  men,  a  reformer,  a  philanthropist,  but  these 
did  not  succeed  in  saving  men.  When  the  true 
Redeemer  appears.  He  is  "  the  man  of  sorrows." 

You  cannot  account  for  it  by  saying  that  the  Jews 
of  His  time  had  lost  the  spirit  of  religion  and  become 
formal  and  hypocritical.  For  the  question  still  re- 
mains, Why  did  Jesus  begin  His  life  in  poverty  and 
obscurity?  Why  was  He  cradled  in  a  manger,  and 
reared  in  the  hum.ble  home  in  distant  GaHlee?  Why 
was  His  earthly  lot  cast  among  the  lowly?  Why  did 
the  Almighty  permit  sorrows  to  thicken  about  His 
path,  from  His  birth  to  His  crucifixion? 

We  have  already  seen  that  this  was  a  matter  of 
prophecy.  ''  They  parted  my  garments  among  them, 
and  upon  my  vesture  they  did  cast  lots."  ^  "They 
pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet."^  These  are  from 
the  Psalms.  "  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter, 
and  as  a  sheep  dumb  before  her  shearers,  so  he 
opened  not  his  mouth."  ^  This  with  much  more  is 
from  Isaiah.  Daniel  also  spoke  of  a  time  when 
Messiah  should  "be  cut  off."^  It  is  clear  that  the 
Lord  had  chosen  that  the  Redeemer  of  men  should 
accomplish  His  work  by  suffering  rather  than  by 
doing. 

Why  was  it? 

I  should  say  in  general  terms  becatise  He  desired  to 
draw  all  men  from  tJieir  sins  and  brijig  them  into  com- 

1  Ps.  xxii.  18.      2  ps,  xxii.  16.      ^  Xsa.  liii.  7.       *  Daniel  ix.  26. 

5 


66  CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

mtmion  with  God.  The  great  fact  was  that  men  were 
estranged  from  God.  The  Redeemer  must  save  them 
from  their  sins. 

Who  can  measure  the  power  of  sympathy  that 
draws  us  to  the  suffering  Saviour?  The  lost  world 
was  after  all  a  vast  hospital  full  of  the  sick  and  the 
suffering,  the  weary  and  the  heavy  laden,  the  help- 
less slaves  of  sin.  One  does  not  go  to  minister  to 
the  inmates  of  a  hospital  with  festive  robes  and  the 
insignia  of  high  rank.  It  is  very  significant  that  the 
Saviour  of  men  took  our  infirmities  and  sicknesses  upon 
Himself  One  side  of  redemption  has  for  its  object 
to  win  sinful  men  from  the  ways  of  evil.  Knowledge 
will  not  do  this.  Art  and  poetry  and  philosophy  will 
not  do  this.  Has  not  vice  flourished  In  the  ages  of 
the  finest  artistic  culture  ?  Would  any  gifts  or  honors 
of  a  prince  draw  a  people  from  the  love  of  sin? 

Men  are  not  made  better  except  by  the  power  of 
goodness.  A  pure  and  beautiful  life  in  a  dark  world, 
—  there  is  no  other  power  like  it.  Especially  if  this 
life  touches  us  by  some  tie  of  sympathy.  If  it 
belongs  to  one  who  loves  us  better  than  all  others, 
and  takes  upon  Himself  the  burden  of  our  suffering, 
and  even  lays  down  His  life  to  save  us. 

The  poverty  and  sorrow  in  the  life  of  Jesus  bring 
Him  into  connection  with  the  greatest  number  of 
men.  For  poverty  and  sorrow  are  the  heritage  of 
the  majority  of  men.  By  His  condescension  to  our 
low  estate  the  Redeemer  came  into  the  closest  re- 
lations with  the  lives  of  common  men.  Others  have 
tried  to  make  men  better  by  enlightening  their  minds, 
but   Jesus    does  it   by  showing  in  His  own  life   the 


CHRIST,  THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS.  6/ 

beauty  of  holiness,  and  softening  their  hearts  by  His 
self-denying  love.  When  men  realize  that  they  have 
been  sinning  against  a  God  of  love,  and  that  He  has 
sent  His  son  to  share  their  grief  and  pain  so  as  to 
win  them  from  evil  and  raise  them  to  the  society  of 
angels,  then  they  feel  the  power  of  the  gospel. 

The  7iext  reason  why  the  Saviour  was  the  ma7i  of 
sorrows  comes  nearer  the  central  triUh  of  Redemption. 
Jesus  came  to  bear  the  sins  of  men.  But  sin  brings 
sorrow.  "There  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked."  The 
world  was  made  fair  as  Eden,  and  was  designed  to 
be  the  abode  of  a  happy  race.  But  the  evil  that 
men  do  has  blighted  it  all,  and  hung  the  very  heavens 
with  mourning. 

Is  there  not  a  certain  fitness  between  the  humilia- 
tion and  sorrow  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  work  He  was 
to  do  for  men?  I  have  no  assertions  to  put  forth, 
but  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  One  who  was  to  redeem 
and  save  the  guilty,  —  those  who  had  arrayed  them- 
selves against  the  Infinite  Purity  and  Love, — that  the 
Redeemer  of  sinful  men,  ought  not  to  put  on  anything 
of  splendor  or  glory;  that  the  fitness  of  things  re- 
quired that  He  should  lay  aside  whatever  high  things 
belonged  to  Him,  and  take  a  place  somewhat  like 
that  which  sinners  deserved.  The  higher  His  place 
had  been  before,  the  more  His  voluntary  humilia- 
tion would  honor  the  righteousness  of  God.  It  has 
seemed  fitting  that  the  Redeemer  of  the  sinful  should 
humble  Himself,  and  take  the  place  of  a  servant,  and 
live  under  the  shadow  of  adversity.  Not  because 
God  is  implacable.  But  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
righteousness,   as   justice  which  is  the  basis  of  law, 


68  CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

and  the  moral  sentiments  of  men  condemn  injustice 
as  wrong.  Would  it  be  quite  congruous,  there- 
fore, for  one  who  had  come  to  seek  and  save  the 
sinful,  to  come  to  His  mission  in  power  and  glory, 
sitting  upon  a  throne,  living  in  prosperity,  and  mak- 
ing his  life  a  triumph?  Is  it  not  more  fitting  that 
He  who  was  "  to  bear  our  sins  "  should  be,  for  the 
short  time  of  His  earthly  life,  a  ''  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief  ?  " 

But  this  does  not  by  any  means  exhaust  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible  in  respect  to  the  purpose  of  the 
suffering  of  our  Saviour.  T/iose  teachings  connect 
His  suffering  directly  with  the  guilt  of  me7i.  The 
"  altar  terms,"  as  they  have  been  called,  are  very 
commonly  used  by  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
in  connection  with  the  suffering  and  the  death  of  our 
Saviour.  In  the  beginning  of  His  ministry  He  was 
announced  as  "  The  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.^  "  He  tells  us  that  His  "  blood 
was  shed  for  many,  unto  remission  of  sins."  ^ 

It  is  easy  to  overstate  the  truth  in  respect  to  this 
matter.  It  is  not  a  theme  for  dogmatism.  It  is  not 
true  that  God  was,  in  any  sense,  the  enemy  of  the 
sinner,  or  that  He  needed  to  be  made  friendly  by  an 
offering.  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."^  But 
God  is  holy  and  righteous.  Sin  deserves  His  condem- 
nation. The  love  of  God  cannot  obscure  His  justice. 
"  Righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  foundation  of 

1  St.  John  i.  29.  3  St.  John  iii.  16. 

2  St.  Matthew  xxvi.  28. 


CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS.  69 

his  throne."  ^  '*  One  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise 
pass  away  from  the  law."^  I  am  sure  that  those  who 
have  any  true  sense  of  the  evil  desert  of  sin  will  feel 
that  it  was  impossible  for  God  to  pass  it  by  without  an 
expiation.     His  holiness  and  His  truth  forbade  it. 

What  then  are  the  facts  as  the  Bible  states  them  ? 
Christ  came  to  a  sinful  world  to  lay  down  His  life  for 
the  sins  of  men.  He  became  our  Redeemer,  our 
Ransom,  our  Sacrifice.  By  His  death  we  have  life. 
Through  His  cross  we  have  the  offer  of  salvation. 
"  He  bare  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree."  ^ 

How  fitting  it  was,  then,  that  He  who  was  to  come 
into  so  close  a  relation  to  the  sins  of  the  world  should 
be  marked  out  before  His  birth  as  "  the  man  of  sor- 
rows :  "  that  He  whose  mission  it  was  to  redeem  the 
sinful  should  be  one  whose  "  visage  was  so  marred 
more  than  any  man,  and  His  form  more  than  the 
sons  of  men  " :  that  He  who  was  to  atone  for  human 
guilt  should  share  that  lot  of  pain  and  persecution, 
which  shows  so  impressively  the  results  of  sin ;  that 
around  His  blessed  head  the  storms  of  Hfe  should 
be  suffered  to  beat ;  that  mockery,  and  buffeting,  and 
the  crown  of  thorns,  and  the  nails  piercing  His  hands 
and  His  feet  should  be  in  His  Hfe  the  symbols  as  well 
of  the  hatefulness  of  sin  as  of  the  cost  of  Redemption  ? 

III. 

If  these  things  are  so,  we  can  understand  w/iy  it 
was  that  the  cross  of  Christ  was  made  so  prominent 
in  the  preaching  of  the  early  apostles.     For  the  cross 
1  Ps.  xcvii.  2.  2  St.  Matt.  v.  18.  ^  j  Peter  ii.  24. 


*JO  CHRIST,   THE   MAN   OF   SORROWS. 

represents  all  that  lies  deepest  in  the  work  of  the 
Redeemer.  We  are  saved  through  His  sufferings 
and  His  death.  So  that,  in  the  Last  Supper,  we 
commemorate  the  death  of  Christ.  The  elements 
which  He  directed  us  to  use  repre'sent,  not  His 
miracles,  nor  His  teachings,  nor  His  pure  and  per- 
fect life,  but  "  His  body  broken  for  us :  "  "  His  blood 
shed  for  the  remission  of  sins."  When  St.  Paul  de- 
termined to  know  nothing  "  save  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified,"  ^  he  was  laying  hold  on  the  central 
element  in  the  gospel.  The  great  victories  of  Chris- 
tianity have  been  won  by  the  preaching  of  the  cross. 

We  can  understand  also  wJiy  the  disciples  of  Christ 
are  sometimes  appoi^ited  to  lives  of  htimiliation  and  of 
suffering.  Is  it  not  fitting  that  we  should  be  par- 
takers of  the  sufferings  of  Christ?''^  Is  it  not  fitting 
that  we,  who  have  been  redeemed  with  precious  blood, 
should  bear  in  our  Hves  some  traces  of  the  evil  lot 
which  we  have  deserved  by  our  sins?  Enough  for 
us  that  we  may  be  forgiven ;  enough  that  heaven  will 
know  no  sorrow.  But  so  long  as  we  are  still  in  the 
world  which  sin  has  blighted,  it  would  be  unseemly 
if  we  were  to  go  untouched  by  sorrow,  unscathed  by 
the  flame. 

Sorrow  has  for  us  a  cleansing,  curative  mission. 
Disappointments,  bereavements,  sicknesses,  and  infir- 
mities are  the  means  by  which  we  are  to  be  refined 
and  purified.  '*  I  have  refined  thee  but  not  as  silver : 
I  have  chosen  thee  in  the  furnace  of  affliction."  ^ 
''Think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial 
among  you,  as  though  a  strange  thing  happened  unto 
1  I  Cor.  ii.  2.  2  I  Peter  iv.  13.  ^  Isaiah  xlviii.  10. 


CHRIST,   THE  MAN  OF   SORROWS.  7 1 

you,  but  rather  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers 
of  Christ's  sufferings."  ^  "The  God  of  all  grace  .  .  . 
after  that  ye  have  suffered  awhile,  make  you  perfect."  ^ 
The  light  of  heaven  allures  us.  But  this  is  not  heaven. 
This  is  the  pilgrimage,  —  the  time  of  discipline.  We 
are  now  only  in  the  process  of  redemption.  But  our 
Father  will  keep  us.  We  shall  not  be  tempted  above 
that  we  are  able.^  The  joys  He  sends  should  awaken 
our  gratitude;  and  even  the  touch  of  sorrow  is  a 
consecrating  chrism. 

One  other  lesson  we  should  learn  from  the  Man 
of  Sorrows,  which  is  this :  We  need  to  take  upon  our 
feeling  the  sorrows  of  those  whom  we  seek  to  help  and 
save.  We  need  to  go  down  to  them,  as  the  Saviour 
did,  and  bear  their  griefs  and  sorrows.  We  need  to 
enter  in  some  real  way  into  sympathy  with  the  suf- 
fering and  the  sinful,  so  as  to  become  ourselves  men 
of  sorrow,  "and  acquainted  with  grief"  There  is 
a  sense  in  which  we  are  to  "  bear  their  sins."  The 
power  that  saves  men  is  the  power  of  love,  and  love 
gives  itself  joyfully  for  the  object  it  seeks.  We  have 
only  touched  the  outer  rim  of  the  cup  which  our 
Saviour  drank,  so  long  as  we  are  only  sending  help 
to  the  perishing.  We  begin  to  drink  of  His  cup,  and 
to  be  baptised  with  His  Baptism,  when  there  is  no  one 
of  the  children  of  sin  around  us  whose  case  we  do 
not  make  our  own,  whose  sins  we  do  not  bear  on  our 
hearts.  This  vicarious  love  will  make  us  the  true 
disciples  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  and  will  make  us 
sharers  of  His  power  to  draw  all  men  unto  Himself. 
1  I  Peter  iv.  12-13.        ^  j  Peter  v.  lo,        ^  i  Cor.  x.  13. 


V. 
CHRIST  OUR  LORD   AND   KING. 


V. 

CHRIST  OUR  LORD   AND   KING. 

On  His  head  are  many  crowns. 

Revelation  xix.  12. 

Who  is  it  who  wears  the  many  crowns? 

In  the  next  verse  we  read,  "  His  name  is  called 
the  Word  of  God."  A  little  farther  on  we  read,  He 
hath  a  name  written  on  His  vesture,  "  King  of  kings, 
and  Lord  of  lords."  These  texts  are  found  in  one 
of  the  last  chapters  of  the  last  book  of  the  Bible,  and 
they  give  us  the  latest  view  of  the  Redeemer,  —  the 
view  which  the  inspired  writers  would  have  in  the 
mind  of  the  Church  to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  sets 
Him  before  us  as  our  Lord  and  King,  who  rules  in 
earth  and  heaven.  *'  On  His  head  are  many  crowns," 
or  as  the  revised  version  reads,  ''  On  his  head  are 
many  diadems."  He  has  not  one  crown  but  many, 
or  rather,  the  crown  has  many  jewels  so  that  it  is 
more  brilliant  than  any  other  king  can  ever  wear,  — 
a  crown  so  resplendent  that  all  others  are  content  to 
cast  their  crowns  at  His  feet. 

We  have  to  turn  back  only  a  few  pages  in  the 
Apocalypse  to  find  a  very  different  representation  of 
the  Redeemer.  John  saw  in  heaven,  **  A  Lamb 
standing  as  though  it  had  been  slain,"  and  he  heard 
the  new  song  which  said  :  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 
hath  been  slain  to  receive  the  power,  and  riches,  and 


76  CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING. 

wisdom,  and  might,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  bless- 
ing." ^  These  two  are  combined  in  that  ancient  Chris- 
tian emblem,  —  the  Cross  and  the  Crown.  Certainly 
we  need  them  both.  He  was  "the  man  of  sorrows." ^ 
''His  visage  was  so  marred  more  than  any  man."^ 
''  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and  bruised 
for  our  iniquities."  ^  His  blood  was  "  shed  for  many 
unto  the  remission  of  sins."^  This  is  the  view  of 
the  Redeemer  that  is  most  common  in  the  thoughts 
of  Christians.  It  is  the  view  upon  which  the  best 
preachers  place  the  strongest  emphasis.  The  best 
hymns  of  the  Church  are  full  of  it.  It  is  the  view 
which  Christian  artists  have  set  forth  in  so  many  forms 
of  imperishable  beauty.  It  is  fitting  that  the  cross 
should  be  the  distinctive  emblem  of  Him  who  has 
tasted  *'  death  for  every  man."  ^  But  we  need  the 
other  view  also  to  give  meaning  to  His  humiliation 
and  His  suffering,  and  to  give  a  healthy  tone  to 
our  piety.  He  came  from  a  throne  of  glory  when 
He  became  the  Son  of  Man,  and  He  entered  again 
into  His  glory  when,  after  His  resurrection.  He  was 
lifted  up  from  the  earth  and  a  cloud  received  Him 
out  of  the  sight  of  His  disciples."^ 

I  do  not  know  that  we  can  think  too  much  of  the 
sufferings  and  death  of  our  Lord,  but  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible to  think  too  Httle  of  the  glory  which  He  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,^  —  the  glory 
into  which  He  entered  when  the  atoning  work  was 

1  Revelation  v.  6-12.  ^  St.  Matthew  xxvi.  28. 

2  Isaiah  liii.  3.  ®  Hebrews  ii.  9. 

3  Isaiah  Hi.  14-  '  Acts  i.  9. 

4  Isaiah  liii.  5.  ^  St.  John  xvii.  5. 


CHRIST   OUR   LORD  AND   KING.  7/ 

done.  He  is  our  Lord  as  truly  as  He  is  our  Saviour, 
and  His  glory  is  greater  than  His  humiliation. 

Let  us  meditate  to-day  upon  Christ  as  our  Lord  and 
King. 

We  can  sometimes  appreciate  things  that  are 
divine  by  comparing  them  with  things  that  are 
human.  We  may  learn  to  appreciate  the  crown 
which  our  Lord  wears  by  comparing  it  with  the 
crowns  which  the  rulers  of  this  world  are  wear- 
ing. For  the  crown  is  no  more  than  a  symbol  of 
the  highest  authority.  We  may  be  able  to  work 
towards  a  comprehension  of  the  King  of  kings  by 
setting  His  authority  alongside  that  of  the  rulers 
of  men. 

Take  as  one  point  of  the  comparison  the  exte7tt  of 
one's  dominions.  There  is  a  certain  glory  in  any 
supreme  authority.  Any  one  looks  with  a  certain 
respect  upon  a  governor,  or  a  president,  or  a  king. 
But  what  if  one  be  the  ruler  of  a  small  country  as 
the  kings  of  Saxony  are.  Is  not  the  queen  of  Eng- 
land, upon  whose  dominions  the  sun  never  sets, 
greater  than  the  king  of  a  small  principality  in 
Germany? 

Take  as  another  point  of  comparison  the  nature, 
and  cJiaracter,  and  achievements  of  a  ruler.  It  is 
easy  to  see  the  dilierence  between  a  ruler  whose 
title  is  simply  an  inheritance,  like  that  of  the  present 
emperor  of  Germany,  and  one  who,  like  Washington, 
has  been  the  Saviour  of  his  country ;  who  has  won 
for  it  the  position  it  enjoys  by  his  own  suffering  and 
his  supreme  endeavors.  If  such  an  one  becomes  the 
chief  ruler,  the  abundance    of  his  services,  and  the 


78  CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING. 

excellence  of  his  character  will  add  to  the  splendor 
of  his  government.  He  will  rule  because  he  is  *'  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  And  if,  in  addition 
to  all  this,  the  ruler  be  a  large  hearted  man  so  that 
the  humblest  of  his  people  can  be  sure  that  he  cares 
for  him,  and  that  he  is  ready  to  counsel  and  help  him 
as  the  father  of  his  people,  is  it  not  plain  that  every 
admirable  quality  of  his  mind  and  his  heart  will  add 
to  the  glory  of  his  administration?  In  such  ways  as 
these  we  can  work  towards  an  appreciation  of  our 
Lord  and  King.  He  is  above  all  others,  partly  be- 
cause of  what  He  is,  and  partly  because  of  what  He 
has  done. 

I. 

One  of  the  many  crowns  of  our  Lord  is  the  crown 
of  Divinity.  There  is  a  limit  to  the  authority  of  the 
highest  created  being,  because,  as  St.  Paul  tells  us, 
"  there  is  no  power  but  of  God ;  the  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God."  ^  If,  then,  our  Lord  were 
only  the  highest  created  being,  there  would  be  an 
authority  higher  than  His  own  to  which  He  would 
owe  allegiance.  The  Apostles  said  to  the  Jewish 
rulers,  "  whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to 
hearken  unto  you  rather  than  unto  God,  judge  ye,"  ^ 
and  a  little  later  they  said,  "  We  must  obey  God  rather 
than  men."  ^  If  we  were  to  assign  to  our  Lord  a  place 
lower  than  that  of  Deity,  it  would  be  impossible  that 
His  name  should  be  "  above  every  name,"  and  that 
**  in  the   name   of  Jesus   every  knee   should  bow,  of 

1  Romans  xiii.  i.        -  Acts  iv.  19.        ^  Acts  v.  29. 


CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING.  79 

things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth,  and  that  every  tongue  should  con- 
fess that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father."  ^  This  then  is  the  glory  of  the  Christ, 
that  He  does  not  rule  by  any  delegated  authority, 
for  He  is  himself  the  source  of  all  authority  and 
power.  By  Him  "Kings  reign,  and  princes  decree 
justice."  2 

As  He  is  divine.  He  has  the  crown  of  universal 
dominion.  We  cannot  compare  His  kingdom  with 
any  human  kingdom,  for  the  greatest  of  these  have 
their  limitations.  There  have  been  elements  of  weak- 
ness in  empires  as  imperial  as  Rome  in  the  time  of 
her  greatest  glory.  Thus  far  in  the  world's  history 
nations  have  had  their  periods  of  growth  and  of 
decline  and  fall.  The  crown  of  the  Caesars  has  lost 
its  lustre,  and  the  iron  crown  of  Charlemagne  is  only 
a  curious  relic  preserved  in  a  museum,  and  exhibited 
to  modern  tourists.  The  crown  which  Christ  wears 
is  not  like  these.  "  Of  the  increase  of  His  govern- 
ment and  of  peace  there  shall  be  no  end."^ 

"  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  his  successive  journeys  run." 

II. 

Our  Lord  also  wears  the  crown  of  a  complete  and 
perfect  Jmmanity.  The  question  is.  Why  should  we 
crown  Him  Lord  of  all?  and  the  answer  is,  Because 
He  who  "was  in  the  beginning  with  God,"  and  who 
was  truly  God,^  has  come  so  near  to  us  as  to  become 

1  Philippians  ii.  9-1 1.  ^  Isaiah  ix.  7. 

2  Proverbs  viii.  15.  *  St.  John  i.  1-2. 


8o  CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING. 

the  Son  of  Man,  so  that  He  "  can  be  touched  with 
the  feeHng  of  our  infirmities,"  for  He  ''  was  tempted 
in  all  points  like  as  we  are."  ^ 

The  humiliation  of  our  Lord  by  His  union  with 
our  humanity  involves  mysteries  which  it  is  beyond 
our  power  to  fathom.  We  only  know  this :  that 
being  in  the  form  of  God,  He  **  emptied  Himself, 
taking  the  form  of  a  servant,  being  made  in  the  Hke- 
ness  of  men."  ^  The  Scriptures  give  no  explanation 
of  this  mystery  of  the  Kenosis,  but  they  teach  us  that 
Jesus  was  truly  a  man ;  that  he  had  the  sensibilities 
and  the  limitations  of  a  man ;  that  He  was  really  and 
truly  tempted ;  that  He  needed  to  pray ;  that  there 
were  some  things  which  He  did  not  know,  and  some 
things  which  the  Father  had  put  in  His  own  power.^ 
In  the  time  of  His  humiliation  He  prayed  to  the 
Father,  —  **  Glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own  self,  with 
the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world 
was."*  They  teach  us  to  think  of  Him  not  as  two 
beings,  but  as  one  being,  the  God-man,  who  in  His 
complete  person  bore  our  griefs  and  carried  our 
sorrows. 

The  power  of  Jesus  the  Christ  to  sway  the  hearts 
of  men  is  a  personal  power.  It  is  that  of  a  real  man 
with  a  sensitive  nature,  and  a  warm  human  heart. 
We  come  very  near  to  Him  when  we  read  the  story 
of  His  life  in  the  four  gospels.  Whoever  reads  these 
with  an  open  mind  will  be  gaining  new  impressions 
of  the  depth  and  tenderness  of  His  sensibihties,  as 
well  as  of  the  wisdom  and   strength  of  His  plans. 

1  Hebrews  iv.  15.  ^  St.  Matthew  xxiv.  36:  St.  Mark  xiii.  32. 

2  Philippians  ii  7.  *  St.  John  xvii.  5. 


CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING.  8 1 

There  are  the  elements  of  a  great  picture  in  the  ex- 
periences of  any  day  of  His  crowded  Hfe,  and  I  do 
not  know  that  there  is  one  of  these  experiences  that 
has  not  furnished  a  subject  for  some  one  of  the  great 
Masters.  You  learn  what  manner  of  Man  He  was 
when  you  recall  that  He  took  little  children  in  His 
arms  and  blessed  them ;  ^  when  you  learn  that  He 
went  to  the  house  of  the  Jewish  ruler  whose  daugh- 
ter of  twelve  years  old  had  just  died,  and  standing  by 
the  side  of  the  mother  and  the  father,  He  took  the 
little  white  hand  of  the  dead  child  in  His  own,  and 
spoke  the  word  of  power  that  called  her  back  to 
life.2  It  is  not  merely  that  He  raised  her  from  the 
dead,  but  that  He  did  it  with  so  much  gentleness  and 
tenderness,  taking  her  hand  in  His  own  as  if  she  were 
His  own  child.  You  gain  another  impression  of  His 
nature  when  you  read  of  His  meeting  the  funeral  of 
the  young  man  of  Nain,  "  the  only  son  of  his  mother, 
who  was  a  widow,"  and,  touching  the  bier  that  they 
might  not  carry  him  further  towards  the  grave.  He 
called  him  back  to  life,  and  "  delivered  him  to  his 
mother."  ^  You  see  this  man  again,  weeping  in  sym- 
pathy at  the  grave  in  Bethany,  so  that  those  who  stood 
by  said,  "  Behold  how  He  loved  Him,"  and  then, 
calling  Lazarus  also  from  the  tomb,  and  sending  him 
back  to  his  own  home  with  his  sisters  whose  faith 
had  not  failed  in  the  supreme  hour.^ 

In  such  ways  as  these,  though  we  have  not  seen 
our  Lord  we  have  learned  to  think  of  His  life  as  full 
of  gentleness  and  sympathy,  beautiful  as  the  life  of 

1  St.  Mark  x.  i6.  ^  St.  Luke  vii.  14. 

^  St.  Luke  viii.  54.  *  St.  John  xi.  34-44- 


82  CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING. 

a  gracious  and  tender  woman,  strong  as  the  life  of 
a  brave  and  heroic  man,  and  glorious  as  the  human 
Hfe  of  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  This  inner  spirit 
of  the  Christ  is  finely  illustrated  in  Raphael's  paint- 
ing of  the  Transfiguration.  You  have  there  the  form 
of  the  Redeemer  clothed  in  a  garment  of  Hght;  and 
His  face — that  wonderful  face  —  lighted  up  with 
divine  rapture.  But  in  that  face,  which  did  shine 
as  the  sun,  there  is  a  depth  of  sensibility,  such  as 
you  can  find  in  no  other,  the  expression  of  a  love 
which  led  Him,  as  soon  as  the  hour  of  heavenly 
communion  was  over,  to  go  down  from  the  mount 
of  glory  to  enter  again  upon  His  work  for  the  sinful 
and  the  lost. 

This  unselfish  love  which  we  find  in  the  Son  of 
Man  is  one  of  the  sources  of  His  power.  I  do  not 
know  that  it  is  possible  to  gain  the  deepest  influence 
over  men  without  possessing  a  generous  and  sensi- 
tive nature.  The  heart  is  moved  only  by  the  heart. 
You  must  have  found  illustrations  of  this  truth  in 
your  study  of  history,  and  music,  and  art.  Those 
who  have  done  the  most  successful  literary  work, 
and  especially  those  who  have  been  the  great  lead- 
ers of  men  have  been  great  hearted  men,  who  kept 
themselves  open  to  the  fresh  influences  of  nature,  and 
who  were  in  hearty  sympathy  with  their  fellow-men. 

You  are  well  aware  also  how  much  the  power  of 
music  depends  upon  the  expression  of  human  feel- 
ing, which  makes  the  beautiful  tones  so  much  more 
than  mere  sounds.  It  is  admitted  now  that  music 
without  words  is  incomplete  music.  When  the  singer 
puts  his  heart  into  the  song,  he  takes  us  captive. 


CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING.  83 

We  call  it  the  power  of  music,  but  it  is  rather  the 
power  of  a  soul,  richly  gifted,  pouring  itself  in  song. 
Even  the  great  painters  owe  their  power  quite  as 
much  to  their  sensibility  as  to  their  technical  skill. 
There  are  thousands  of  pictures  in  the  galleries  of 
Europe,  well  drawn  and  richly  colored,  that  have 
never  gained  the  hearts  of  the  lovers  of  art,  because 
there  is  nothing  in  them  to  stir  the  sensibilities. 
Let  two  artists,  of  equal  technical  skill,  paint  the 
same  scene  in  the  life  of  our  Lord,  and  the  one  who 
has  himself  the  deepest  feeling,  and  the  fullest  appre- 
ciation of  His  character,  will  be  able  to  throw  into 
his  picture  those  delicate  touches  of  life  which  appeal 
to  the  universal  sympathies  of  men,  and  this  will 
place  his  work  far  above  that  of  his  brother  artist 
who  has  a  duller  sensibility. 

If  these  things  are  true  with  reference  to  such 
forms  of  influence  as  these,  they  must  be  still  more 
evidently  true  of  that  spiritual  influence  which  aims 
to  change  the  very  springs  of  action  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  spiritual  life.  It  is  not  so  much  the 
power  and  wisdom  of  Christ  as  it  is  the  love  of  Christ 
that  constraineth  us.^  It  is  impossible  that  our  Lord 
should  have  set  up  a  spiritual  kingdom  in  such  a 
world  as  this  if  He  had  not  been  first  of  all  our 
Saviour. 

III. 

Our  Lord  also  wears  the  crown  of  perfect  righteous- 
ness.  It  must  be  so  if  He  combines  a  divine  nature 
with  a  perfect  human   nature.     Not   only  is  it  true 

1  2  Cor.  V.  14. 


84  CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING. 

that  He  is  holy  as  to  His  own  character  and  Hfe, 
but  His  teachings  lead  towards  righteousness  always. 
He  came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it.^  He 
set  before  men  only  one  standard,  and  that  was  per- 
fect righteousness.  "  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  ^  He  came 
to  turn  men  from  sin  unto  righteousness.  He  did  not 
come  to  save  us  by  breaking  down  the  law  of  right- 
eousness, but  by  honoring  that  law,  —  shedding  His 
blood  for  the  remission  of  sins.  He  leads  us  from 
sin  to  holiness  by  the  power  of  His  love.  The  great- 
est motive  to  holy  living  which  has  ever  been  pre- 
sented to  men  is  the  love  of  Christ,  which  led  Him 
to  give  His  life  for  us.  It  is  the  love  of  Christ  which 
is  drawing  men  from  selfishness  and  all  manner  of 
sin  to  the  life  of  purity  and  love. 

IV. 

This  brings  us  to  the  statement  that  07ir  Lord 
jfes7is  wears  the  crown  of  love.  He  came  to  reveal 
the  love  of  the  Father  for  those  who  were  yet  sinners. 
It  is  a  great  error  to  teach  that  the  government  of 
God  over  the  world  is  purely  a  government  of  law, — 
of  law  that  is  immutable,  that  leaves  no  place  for 
prayer,  and  no  room  for  divine  providence.  For  we 
can  think  of  a  method  of  government  that  is  higher 
than  that.  One  who  rules  by  power  alone,  by  laws 
that  are  cold  and  pitiless,  is  not  the  perfect  ruler. 
A  king  who  loves  his  people,  and  whom  they  love 
with  supreme  devotion,  is  higher  than  one  who  gov- 

1  St.  Matthew  v.  17.  *^  St.  Matthew  v.  48. 


CHRIST  OUR   LORD  AND   KING.  85 

erns  by  force.  "  God  is  love,"  and  love  is  greater 
than  power,  and  God  sent  His  Son  to  manifest  His 
love  to  men. 

If  God  is  love,  then  He  must  needs  take  upon 
Himself  the  sorrows  of  men ;  for  does  not  love  lead 
us  to  bear  one  another's  burdens?  So  that  we  are 
to  think  of  our  divine  Lord  as  the  great  Burden- 
bearer.  It  is  His  glory  that  He  has  a  nature  sensi- 
tive to  every  joy  or  sorrow  of  those  whom  He  loves. 
So  that  He  is  able  to  bear  our  griefs  and  carry  our 
sorrows. 

V. 

His  crown  is  therefore  t/ie  crown  of  ^^nercy.  His 
love  extends  to  those  who  are  yet  sinners,  and  so  it 
is  a  complete  and  all-embracing  love.  It  is  the  high- 
est glory  of  our  Lord  that  His  followers  have  been 
redeemed  with  His  blood;  just  as  —  to  compare  the 
greatest  things  with  those  that  are  less  —  it  would  be 
the  highest  glory  of  a  human  ruler  that  those  under 
his  government  had  been  delivered  from  bondage, 
and  enfranchised  by  what  he  had  done  and  suffered. 
This  is  the  profound  meaning  of  the  song  of  the  re- 
deemed which  St.  John  heard  :  ''  Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  hath  been  slain  to  receive  the  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  might,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing."  ^  "  For  thou  wast  slain,  and  didst  purchase 
unto  God  with  thy  blood  men  of  every  tribe,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation ;  and  madest  them  to 
be  unto  our  God  a  kingdom  and  priests:  and  they 
reign  upon  the  earth."  - 

1  Rev.  V.  12.  2  Rev.  v.  9-10. 


S6  CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND   KING. 

As  I  Studied,  awhile  ago,  the  face  of  Christ  in  Da 
Vinci's  painting  of  the  Last  Supper  at  Milan,  I 
thought  I  was  gaining  a  fresh  view  of  His  glory. 
It  is,  I  think,  the  saddest  face  I  ever  saw.  It  is  the 
sadness  of  deep  compassion.  We  read  in  the  gospel 
that  as  they  were  at  the  table  "Jesus  was  troubled 
in  the  spirit,  and  testified  and  said,  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me."  ^ 
The  artist  has  fixed  upon  the  scene  at  that  moment 
as  the  subject  for  his  canvas.  Every  disciple  was 
startled  as  by  an  electric  shock  when  He  said  that, 
but  the  whole  heart  of  the  Saviour  was  moved,  in 
view  of  the  sin  and  the  ruin  of  the  disciple  who  had 
already  sold  himself  to  do  this  deed.  And  yet,  in  the 
sadness  of  that  face,  there  is  no  suggestion  of  weak- 
ness. It  is  not  the  face  of  a  conquered  man.  With 
the  sorrow  there  is  blended  a  dignity  that  gives  in- 
finite weight  to  His  compassion,  so  that  you  feel  that 
He  was  consciously  superior  to  all  the  circumstances 
about  Him.  He  was  bearing  our  sins,  and  the  shadow 
of  the  cross  was  falling  upon  Him,  but  even  then  He 
was  plainly  the  Master  and  Lord. 

This  is  our  Lord  and  King;  the  Son  of  God,  and 
yet  the  Son  of  Man,  tempted  as  we  are,  yet  without 
sin:  eating  with  sinners,  but  "  separate  from  sinners," 
knowing  what  was  in  man,  and  yet  loving  sinful  men 
with  an  infinite  love,  and  laying  down  His  life  for 
them.  The  disciples  saw  Him  ascend  up  where  He 
was  before.  He  "  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God." 
On  his  head  are  many  crowns,  —  the  crown  of  divinity, 
and  the  crown  of  a  complete  humanity ;   the  crown  of 

1  St.  John  xiii.  21. 


CHRIST   OUR   LORD   AND    KING.  8/ 

sympathy,  and  the  crown  of  mercy.  I  am  sure  you 
have  learned  all  this  from  His  own  words  and  from 
His  life,  and  your  sense  of  His  glory  must  have  deep- 
ened from  your  experiences,  as  you  have  gone  to 
Him  from  day  to  day  with  your  burdens.  For  He 
is  wont  to  reveal  Himself  to  the  loving  and  faithful 
disciple,  so  that  such  an  one  may  have  a  more  per- 
fect image  of  his  Redeemer  than  any  artist  has  ever 
painted  upon  his  canvas. 

If  these  things  are  so  how  loyal  we  should  be^  not 
only  to  His  churchy  to  His  cause  in  the  worlds  but  to 
Him,  our  Lord  and  Master.  That  word  loyalty 
means  a  great  deal  even  when  it  stands  for  the  de- 
votion of  a  citizen  to  his  ruler.  But  it  means  more 
when  it  stands  for  the  love  and  devotion  of  a  Chris- 
tian to  his  Redeemer.  The  world  has  never  seen 
such  loyalty  as  that  which  great  multitudes  have 
shown  to  Christ.  There  is  nothing  in  the  annals  of 
the  world  to  equal  the  constancy  of  the  Christian 
martyrs,  who  endured,  not  death  alone,  but  those 
tortures  of  the  rack  and  of  the  fire  which  have  been 
permitted  to  test  the  devotion  of  so  many  of  the 
servants  of  our  King. 

If  we  are  loyal  we  shall  trust  His  words  of  promise. 
We  shall  live  by  faith  in  Him.  We  shall  be  obedient 
to  His  words.  *' Ye  are  my  friends,"  He  said,  *' if 
ye  do  w^hatsoever  I  command  you."  "  If  any  man 
will  be  my  disciple,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  the  cross,  and  follow  me."  '*  This  is  my  com- 
mandment, that  ye  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved 
you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another." 


88  CHRIST  OUR   LORD   AND    KING. 

Our  loyalty  should  not  be  a  constraint.  It  should 
be  an  enthusiasm.  It  must  never  count  the  cost.  It 
gives  all,  or  it  gives  nothing.  It  will  make  us  as 
cheerful  as  we  are  faithful.  It  is  the  grandest  enthu- 
siasm of  which  we  are  capable,  —  the  love  and  devo- 
tion of  a  disciple  to  his  Master  and  Lord.  It  has 
made  missionaries  and  martyrs,  and  it  will  continue 
to  make  them,  —  not  unwilling,  but  cheerful  and  ex- 
ultant missionaries  and  martyrs,  who  go  to  share  His 
service  and  His  cross  as  men  go  to  a  festival. 

The  signs  of  the  times  indicate  that  we  are  on  the 
eve  of  great  events  for  the  Church.  The  spirit  of 
God  is  moving  among  the  nations  as  never  before. 
The  Congress  of  Religions  has  disclosed  to  the 
people  in  the  ends  of  the  earth  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  the  one  religion  which  is  to  fill  the  earth.  There 
is  a  fresh  awakening  among  Christians,  especially 
young  Christians.  The  opportunities  of  service  are 
greater,  the  call  is  louder.  Sectarian  divisions  are 
fading  away ;  and  the  one  Church  of  our  Lord  seems 
to  be  girding  itself  with  strength  given  from  above, 
to  enlighten  and  save  the  world  for  the  glory  of 
Christ  our  Lord. 


VI. 

CHRIST   THE    POSITIVE   TEACHER. 


VI. 

CHRIST   THE   POSITIVE   TEACHER. 

And  it  came  to  pass^  when  Jesus  efided  these  words^  the 
multitudes  were  astoftished  at  His  teaching:  for  he  taught 
them  as  one  having  authority^  and  not  as  their  scribes. 

St.  Matthew  vii.  28-29. 

One  who  searches  the  four  gospels  carefully  will 
find  a  few  texts  which  suggest  the  outlines  of  a  pic- 
ture of  our  Saviour,  as  He  appeared  to  the  men  of 
His  own  time.  We  cannot  be  mistaken  in  the  opinion 
that  His  aspect  was  kind  and  gracious,  so  that  mothers 
brought  their  young  children  to  Him  that  He  would 
touch  them ;  the  sick  and  the  poor  came  to  Him, 
and  "  the  common  people  heard  Him  gladly. "  ^ 
Those  who  were  under  the  shadow  of  adversity 
knew,  by  an  infallible  instinct,  that  his  heart  was 
with  them.  We  read  in  one  place  that  the  people 
"  wondered  at  the  words  of  grace  that  proceeded  out 
of  His  mouth."  ^ 

There  must  have  been  also  an  impression  of  per- 
fect sincerity.  His  face  inspired  confidence  and 
made  a  way  for  Him  among  strangers.  There  was 
also  a  certain  dignity  in  His  bearing  and  in  His 
speech  which  commanded  respect,  while  it  prevented 
undue  familiarity.  His  gentleness  was  as  far  as  pos- 
1  St.  Mark  xii.  ^-j.  2  st.  Luke  iv.  22. 


92  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER. 

sible  from  weakness.  His  disciples  were  very  near 
to  Him,  but  they  never  forgot  that  He  was  their 
Lord  and  Master.  If  He  drew  men  to  Himself  by 
His  mildness  and  benignity,  He  commanded  their 
respect  by  His  courage  and  boldness.  "  Never  man 
spake  like  this  man."  ^  How  wonderful  it  was  that 
He,  one  man  alone,  was  able  with  only  a  scourge  of 
small  cords  to  drive  from  the  temple  the  money 
changers,  —  such  money  changers  as  the  Jews  were, 
and  are  to  this  day.  How  remarkable  that  with  all 
the  animosity  that  was  kindled  against  Him,  no  man 
laid  hands  on  Him  until  the  last  night,  and  then  the 
rough  temple  guards  were  three  times  overpowered 
by  His  simple  majesty,  and  only  took  Him  when  He 
delivered  Himself  into  their  hands.  So  gentle  and 
patient  He  was,  yet  so  bold  and  aggressive ;  at  once, 
the  most  popular  man  among  the  people,  and  the 
one  most  feared  and  persecuted  by  the  rulers.  He 
was  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  yet  He  **  came  not  to 
send  peace  on  the  earth,  but  a  sword."  '-^ 

In  the  text  we  have  a  statement  of  the  manner  of 
Christ  as  a  teacher,  which  suggests  more  than  it 
expresses.  One  gets  a  certain  impression  of  Jesus 
as  he  reads  carefully  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but 
this  impression  becomes  more  distinct  when  we  read 
directly  after  that  ''  the  people  were  astonished  at 
His  teaching,  for  He  taught  them  as  one  having 
authority,  and  not  as  their  scribes."  We  have  a 
similar  statement  three  times  in  the  gospels,  and  the 
statements  refer  to  different  periods  in  His  ministry.^ 

1  St.  John  vii.  46.  ^  g^,  Matthew  x.  34. 

3  St.  Luke  iv.  32  r  St.  Mark  i,  22  :  St.  Matthew  vii.  28-9. 


CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER.  93 

He  seems  to  have  taught  the  people  as  one  who  had 
a  right  to  set  forth  new  truth.  They  were  astonished 
when  they  saw  His  fearlessness,  and  His  bold  and 
original  methods.  He  always  commanded  attention 
because  He  spoke  as  one  who  was  able  to  impart  the 
highest  truths  to  men. 

I. 

His  authority  was  shown,  first  of  all,  by  His  original 
methods  of  teaching.  The  text  brings  out  the  con- 
trast between  His  way  and  that  of  the  scribes.  The 
scribes  were  in  bondage,  not  only  to  the  Old  Revela- 
tion, but  to  the  old  interpretations  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  traditions  of  the  fathers.  So  that  they 
were  unable  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  in  a  free 
and  spiritual  manner.  They  did  not  expect  that 
there  was  "  more  truth  to  break  forth  from  the 
Word  of  God."  They  had  no  conception  of  the 
progress  in  the  revelation  which  God  had  given. 
In  their  view  everything  had  been  finished  in  the 
times  of  the  fathers.  This  view  led  them  to  interpret 
their  Sacred  books  in  a  slavish  spirit.  It  inclined 
them  to  take  narrow  views.  They  were  always  in- 
sisting upon  "the  mint,  and  anise,  and  cummin," 
while  they  neglected  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law, 
—  ''judgment,  and  mercy,  and  faith."  ^  They  under- 
stood neither  the  deep  things  of  God,  nor  the  deep- 
est wants  of  the  soul  of  man.  So  that  the  result 
of  the  rabbinical  teaching  was  a  religion  of  forms 
covering  much  hypocrisy  and  wickedness. 

1  St.  Matthew  xxiii.  2'?. 


94  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  was  in  sharp  contrast  with 
that  of  the  scribes.  He  spoke  as  one  fresh  from  the 
sources  of  truth.  He  threw  aside  the  bondage  to 
traditions,  and  insisted  on  coming  with  an  open  mind 
and  a  free  spirit  to  the  very  heart  and  core  of  things. 
He  taught  the  people  with  confidence,  as  though  He 
were  conscious  of  a  right  to  strip  from  rehgion  the 
accumulations  of  past  ages,  and  to  lay  bare  the  truth 
all  radiant  and  glorious,  as  it  came  from  Him  who 
is  the  Source  of  light  and  of  life. 

II. 

The  authority  of  Christ  as  a  Teacher  was  shown  by 
His  confidence  in  the  truth.  He  spoke  of  the  truth 
as  real  and  eternal.  It  was  not  a  speculation,  but  the 
expression  of  the  reality  of  things,  —  the  same  for 
one  man  as  for  another,  for  one  time,  and  for  all 
times.     It  is  that  which  is, 

"  Not  of  to-day,  or  yesterday, 
But  lives  forever,  nor  can  man  assign 
When  first  it  sprang  to  being."  ^ 

There  is  nothing  of  skepticism  or  doubt  in  the 
teachings  of  Christ.  He  treads  upon  firm  ground. 
"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words 
shall  not  pass  away."  ^ 

Moreover,  He  showed  confidence  in  the  truth  as 
adapted  to  the  minds  of  men.  He  took  it  for  granted 
that  the  common  mind  is  able  to  apprehend  spiritual 
truth,  for  He  preached  more  frequently  to  the  com- 

1  Antigone,  quoted  by  Prof.  Fisher  in  Beginnings  of  Christianity. 

2  St.  Matthew  xxiv.  35. 


CHRIST  THE   POSmVE  TEACHER.  95 

mon  people  in  the  villages  of  Galilee  and  of  Judea 
than  to  the  people  at  the  centres  of  intelligence  and 
culture.  He  seemed  to  have  more  confidence  in  the 
common  mind  than  in  the  educated  mind  of  His  time. 
So  He  said  to  the  Scribes :  "  Except  ye  turn,  and 
become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven."  ^  *'  I  thank  thee,  O  Father, 
because  Thou  didst  hide  these  things  from  the  wise 
and  understanding,  and  didst  reveal  them  unto 
babes."  ^ 

Especially  did  our  Saviour  appeal  to  the  perma- 
nent convictions,  and  moral  intuitions  of  men.  He 
did  not  deduce  the  most  important  truths  from  pro- 
cesses of  reasoning.  He  never  attempted  to  prove 
the  being  of  God,  or  the  existence  of  the  spiritual 
world.  He  assumed  these  truths  as  well  known. 
His  effort  was  to  bring  men  into  close  personal  rela- 
tions with  God  as  His  children,  and  to  bring  them 
under  the  influence  of  His  holiness  and  love.  He 
knew  the  power  of  conscience  and  the  natural  yearn- 
ings for  immortality,  and  He  sought  to  lay  hold  on 
men  by  means  of  their  moral  sentiments  and  their 
spiritual  aspirations,  and  to  bring  them  into  fellowship 
with  God.  He  used  the  truths  that  are  well  known, 
to  lead  to  the  apprehension  of  the  truths  that  are 
less  known.  He  frequently  used  the  common  rela- 
tions of  men  in  this  life  to  suggest  something  of  their 
relations  to  God.  He  spoke  of  earthly  things  that 
He  might  help  them  to  apprehend  heavenly  things. 

"What  man  is  there  of  you  who,  if  his  son  shall  ask 
him  for  a  loaf,  will  give  him  a  stone  ?  If  ye  then,  being 
1  St.  Matthew  xviii.  3.  '^  St.  Matthew  xi.  25. 


g6  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER. 

evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven 
give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him?  "  ^  So,  from 
your  love  for  your  children,  learn  God's  readiness  to 
answer  the  requests  of  His  children. 

The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  when  a  man  *'  going 
into  another  country,  called  his  own  servants  and 
delivered  unto  them  his  goods.  And  unto  one  he 
gave  five  talents,  to  another  two,  to  another  one :  to 
each  according  to  his  several  ability.  .  .  .  Now  after 
a  long  time,  the  lord  of  those  servants  cometh  and 
maketh  a  reckoning  with  them."  ^  So,  from  these 
relations  which  are  perfectly  familiar  in  the  business 
of  men.  He  set  forth  the  principles  on  which  God 
will  proceed  in  respect  to  the  duties  which  men  owe 
to  Him.  He  appealed  also  to  the  sense  of  ill-desert 
that  men  have,  and  taught  that  He  was  the  Saviour 
of  sinners ;  and  that  the  great  Father  will  welcome  all 
such  as  come  back  to  Him,  even  as  an  earthly  father, 
seeing  his  prodigal  son,  when  he  is  a  great  way  off, 
will  run  and  fall  on  his  neck,  and  kiss  him,  and  put  on 
him  the  tokens  of  his  forgiveness  and  his  love.  So 
the  life  here  is  used  to  suggest  the  life  there ;  earthly 
things  are  made  to  teach  us  heavenly  things;  and 
duty  to  men  shows  us  our  duty  to  God.  The  earthly 
home  suggests  the  mansions  in  the  Father's  house. 

This  was  His  manner  of  teaching.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  the  gospels  more  wonderful  than  the  confi- 
dence with  which  the  Saviour  presented  the  truth 
to  the  people.  He  employed  no  artifice.  He  sought 
no  adventitious  helps.     He  took  no  pains  to  solicit 

1  St.  Matthew  vii.  9-1 1.  2  gt.  Matthew  xxv.  14-20. 


CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER.  97 

the  influence  of  the  men  of  learning  and  eloquence. 
He  selected  His  disciples  from  among  the  plain 
people.  He  did  not  found  an  Academy  or  write  a 
book,  or  even  organize  a  church.  Like  Socrates, 
who  refused  to  commit  his  teachings  to  writing,  say- 
ing, *'  I  prefer  to  write  on  the  hearts  of  living  men," 
Christ  trusted  entirely  to  oral  discourses.  He  went 
about  among  the  people  teaching  the  truth  concern- 
ing God,  and  the  way  by  which  we  may  please  Him ; 
sowing  beside  all  waters ;  teaching  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  even  publicans  and  sinners,  the  pro- 
fane and  the  outcasts ;  using  the  simple  and  homely 
methods  that  would  convey  the  truth  most  clearly  to 
the  common  men  who  resorted  to  Him.  He  forbade 
His  disciples  to  use  any  other  means  besides  the 
truth.  ''  If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then 
would  my  servants  fight."  ^  ''  Put  up  the  sword  into 
the  sheath."^  '^  Provide  neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor 
brass,  in  your  purses;  nor  scrip  for  your  journey; 
neither  two  coats ;  neither  shoes,  nor  yet  staves."  ^ 
But  **  go  ye  into  all  the  world,"  go  fearlessly,  go  con- 
fidently, "  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature  ;  "  ^ 
simply  preach  the  truth ;  "  and  lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  ^ 

Let  me  contrast  this  reliance  upon  the  truth  as  a 
reality,  with  the  philosophy  of  unbelief,  which  is  so 
often  put  forth  in  an  age  of  unbelief  We  have 
teachers  who  give  us  "  Guesses  at  the  truth,"  specu- 
lations about  the  truth ;   vague  conjectures  in  respect 

1  St.  John  xviii.  36.  ^  St.  Matthew  x.  9-10. 

2  St.  John  xviii.  ii.  *  St.  Mark  xvi.  15. 

^  St.  Matthew  xxviii.  20. 
7 


98  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER. 

to  the  truth.  There  are  some  who  imagine  that  it 
is  better  to  be  seeking  the  truth  than  to  know  the 
truth.  It  is  common  to  quote  one  of  the  sayings  of 
Lessing,  that  if  he  were  offered  the  choice  between 
the  truth  as  a  present  possession  and  the  opportunity 
to  search  for  the  truth  all  his  life,  he  would  choose 
the  latter.  But  why  so  ?  If  the  truth  be  worth  seek- 
ing all  one's  life,  why  is  it  better  to  seek  it  than  to 
have  it?  Why,  indeed,  should  one  seek  it  if  it  is 
better  not  to  possess  it?  Why  spend  one's  life  in 
quest  of  that  which  it  is  better  not  to  gain  ? 

A  saying  of  Tennyson's  is  often  quoted  as  imply- 
ing that  doubt,  if  honest,  is  better  than  faith; 

"  There  lives  more  faith  in  honest  doubt, 
Believe  me,  than  in  half  the  creeds."  ^ 

But  the  meaning  of  the  poet  is  not  that  doubt  is 
better  than  faith.  He  was  himself  possessed  of  a 
clear  and  steady  faith  which  he  prized  above  all 
other  things.  Honest  doubt  is  better  than  the  pre- 
tence of  faith,  just  as  anything  honest  is  better  than 
anything  dishonest.  But  doubt,  at  the  best,  is  only 
negative,  —  preparative  —  while  the  soul  craves  that 
which  is  positive,  —  that  which  satisfies  its  longings, 
—  the  true  bread  of  life.  Mr.  Tennyson  goes  on  to 
say  of  his  doubter,  — 

"  He  fought  his  doubts,  and  gathered  strength, 
He  would  not  make  his  judgment  blind, 
He  faced  the  spectres  of  the  mind 
And  laid  them  :  thus  he  came  at  length 
To  find  a  stronger  faith  his  own." 

1  In  Memoriam  xcv. 


CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER.  99 

Our  great  Teacher  never  mocked  the  expectations 
of  men  with  vague  surmises  and  questionings.  He 
taught  that  over  against  the  inquiries  of  earnest  men 
there  is  a  real  objective  truth  which  is  the  bread  of 
Hfe.  "  I  am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life," 
He  said.^  ''  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  to  this  end 
am  I  come  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness 
unto  the  truth.  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  hear- 
eth  my  voice."  ^  He  said  again :  *'  If  ye  abide  in 
my  word,  ...  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth 
shall  make  you  free."  ^ 

HI. 

The  authority  of  the  great  Teacher  appears  tn  His 
definite  and  positive  statements  of  truth.  He  never 
teaches  that  it  is  of  little  consequence  what  men  be- 
lieve. For  our  religion  rests  upon  certain  great  facts, 
and  it  is  of  the  first  importance  for  us  to  be  sure  of 
these  facts. 

Take  as  an  example  of  His  method,  the  teaching 
in  respect  to  the  being  of  God.  You  can  give  twenty 
reasons,  perhaps,  to  prove  that  there  is  no  God  but 
nature.  Another  can  give  twenty  reasons  to  prove 
that  there  is  a  living  God  who  is  the  Author  of  nature. 
Did  Christ  teach  in  that  way?  Did  He  speculate 
upon  the  matter  as  though  there  were  any  uncer- 
tainty about  His  existence?  Instead  of  that,  Jesus 
said :  "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father ; 
how  sayest  thou,  show  us  the  Father?  "  *   ''  I  and  the 

1  St.  John  xiv.  6.  ^  St.  John  viii.  31-32. 

2  St.  John  xviii.  37-38.  *  St.  John  xiv.  9. 


100  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER. 

Father  are  one."  ^  *'  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that 
worship  Him  must  worship  in  spirit  and  truth."  ^ 
**  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."  ^ 
Above  all,  did  He  illuminate  the  truth  concerning 
God  when  He  said :  *'  For  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  on  Him  should  not  perish  but  have 
eternal  life."  *  That  is  not  the  manner  of  one  who 
is  finding  his  way  to  the  truth  step  by  step,  but 
of  one  who  knows.  Whoever  will  receive  His  tes- 
timony will  have  no  doubt  that  there  is  one  God, 
spiritual,  good,  and  true,  and  that  He  loves  the 
world. 

If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again?  Who  can  tell 
us?  We  have  had  no  experience  of  death  or  of  what 
lies  beyond.  Human  reason  gives  no  certain  answer. 
Some  wise  men  have  found  it  hard  to  believe  in 
immortality.  But  Jesus  answered  the  question  not 
only  by  His  words,  but  by  His  subhme  act.  He 
said,  ''  He  that  believeth  on  me,  though  He  die,  yet 
shall  he  live ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  on 
me,  shall  never  die."^  He  told  His  disciples  that  He 
should  rise  again ;  and  on  the  third  day  He  did  come 
forth  from  the  tomb,  and  showed  Himself  alive  unto 
His  disciples  "  by  many  infallible  proofs,  being  seen 
of  them  forty  days." 

Can  God  forgive  sin?  Some  say  yes;  others  say 
no.  I  do  not  think  any  one  can  find  out  by  his  own 
inquiries.     I  can   give   as  many  reasons  why  a  holy 

1  St.  John  X.  30.  3  St.  Matthew  xxii.  32. 

2  St.  John  iv.  24.  4  St.  John  iii.  16. 

^  St.  John  xi.  25-26. 


CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER.  lOI 

God  should  not  forgive  sin,  as  another  can  give  to 
show  that  He  can  do  so.  But  the  Master  did  not 
give  any  reasons.  He  did  not  discuss  the  question. 
He  settled  it  by  saying  to  a  man :  ''  Thy  sins  are 
forgiven ;  "  ^  and  then  He  wrought  a  miracle  to 
show  that  He  had  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins. 
The  thing  was  done,  and  there  was  an  end  of  ques- 
tioning, if  you  will  receive  His  testimony.  And  since 
God  can  forgive  sin,  He  made  it  the  great  purpose 
of  His  teaching  to  induce  men  to  come  to  Him  with 
their  burdens  and  their  guilt,  and  obtain  a  free  remis- 
sion for  His  sake. 

There  is  a  great  practical  question  as  to  prayer. 
Some  inquire  whether  it  is  of  any  use  for  men  to 
pray.  Does  God  hear  our  prayers?  Can  we  expect 
that  God  will  interfere  in  any  case  with  natural  proc- 
esses in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  His  children  P^  It  is 
very  common,  at  this  time,  to  say  that  the  only  bene- 
fit of  prayer  is  its  reflex  influence  upon  the  person 
who  prays.  But  the  great  Teacher  expressed  no 
doubt  in  respect  to  prayer.  He  lived  a  life  of  prayer. 
He  taught  His  disciples  to  pray.  He  said  :  "  There- 
fore I  say  unto  you.  All  things  whatsoever  ye  pray 
and  ask  for,  believe  that  ye  have  received  them,  and 
ye  shall  have  them."  ^  ''Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive; 
seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you."  *  He  also  said  :  "  If  ye  abide  in  me,  and 
my  words  abide  in  you,  ask  whatsoever  ye  will  and 
it  shall  be  done  unto  you."  ^     There  is  no  longer  any 

1  St.  Mark  ii.  5.  3  st.  Mark  xi.  24. 

2  See  The  Forum,  May,  1897,  351.  *  St.  Matthew  vii.  7. 

^  John  XV.  7. 


I02  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER. 

question  in  regard  to  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  for  those 
who  receive  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

Another  question  relates  to  the  dealings  of  God  with 
men  in  the  futnre  life.  Will  He  punish  those  who 
refuse  the  offers  of  His  grace,  and  die  without  repent- 
ance? Christ  did  not  discuss  this  question,  as  though 
He  needed  to  find  His  way  to  the  truth;  but  an- 
nounced the  solemn  fact,  "  Whosoever  speaketh  a 
word  against  the  Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven 
him :  but  whosoever  speaketh  against  the  Holy  Ghost, 
it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world, 
neither  in  the  world  to  come."  ^  There  is  then 
a  sin  unto  death.  In  summing  up  the  results  of  the 
final  judgment,  our  Lord  said  :  ''These  shall  go  away 
into  eternal  punishment ;  but  the  righteous  into  eter- 
nal Hfe."  2 

There  is  no  need  to  multiply  illustrations  of  this 
positive  method  of  the  great  Teacher.  They  lie  on 
the  surface  of  the  four  Gospels,  and  he  who  runs  may 
read  them.  He  shows  unlimited  confidence  in  the 
truth,  and  in  Himself  as  the  Divine  Teacher  of  men. 
Observe  the  perfect  independence  of  this  Teacher. 
He  stands  alone  on  a  height  unapproachable,  —  the 
most  solitary  of  beings ;  the  one  infallible  Teacher 
of  Divine  things.  The  wise  men  of  the  nation  dis- 
sent from  Him,  but  His  confidence  does  not  waver. 
The  nation  turns  against  Him,  but  He  does  not  hesi- 
tate. His  disciples  forsake  Him,  but  in  the  supreme 
hour  He  says:  ''Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth 
heareth  my  voice."  ^ 

1  St.  Matthew  xii.  32.  »  St.  John  xviii.  37. 

2  St.  Matthew  xxv.  46. 


CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER.  103 


IV. 

The  authority  of  Christ  also  appears  in  the  claim 
which  He  constantly  made  that  me7t  should  obey  the 
truth  which  He  was  giving  them.  The  truth,  in  His 
use  of  it  was  intensely  practical.  It  was  such  that 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  placed  men  under  obliga- 
tion to  follow  it.  *' Whosoever  heareth  these  say- 
ings of  mine  and  doeth  them,  is  like  unto  a  wise  man, 
who  built  his  house  upon  a  rock;  "  and  whosoever 
"  heareth  these  words  of  mine  and  doeth  them  not, 
shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which  built  his 
house  upon  the  sand."  ^  The  truths  He  teaches  are 
vital.  ''  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are 
spirit,  and  they  are  life."  ^ 

There  are  many  things  that  are  true  that  have  no 
relation  to  character.  It  does  not  make  one  a  better 
man  to  know  that  two  and  two  are  four,  or  to  compre- 
hend the  demonstrations  of  Euclid,  or  the  correlation 
of  forces.  But  it  does  tend  to  make  us  more  serious 
to  know  that  we  are  immortal.  It  gives  us  hope  and 
courage  to  learn  that  God  loves  us.  It  strengthens 
every  moral  feeling  to  know  that  we  are  responsible 
to  God.  Our  whole  life  will  be  elevated  if  we  come 
under  the  influence  of  the  pure  and  blessed  life  of 
Jesus,  who  has  redeemed  us. 

The  great  Teacher  presents  these  truths  as  the  means 
for   our  salvation.     He  would   save  us  through  the 
truth,  —  truth  which  consists  of  certain   simple  state- 
ments of  fact,  which  we  receive  on  His  authority, 
1  St.  Matthew  vii.  24-26.  2  gt.  John  vi.  63. 


I04  CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE   TEACHER. 

but  which  we  find  to  correspond  with  the  suggestions 
of  our  own  spiritual  nature.  These  truths  are  of 
such  a  kind  that  if  we  yield  ourselves  to  their  direc- 
tion they  will  guide  us  to  a  spiritual  life  with  God. 

He  claims  a  complete  obedience.  He  will  not  accept 
a  divided  service.  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon." ^  He  requires  us  to  forsake  all  and  follow 
Him,  even  though  we  may  have  to  bear  the  cross. 
**  He  that  loveth  father  and  mother  more  than  me 
cannot  be  my  disciple."  ''  For  whosoever  would 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it;  and  whosoever  shall  lose 
his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it."  ^ 

This  statement  of  the  manner  of  our  Lord's  teach- 
ing shows  us  the  inner  spirit  of  our  religion.  It  is  the 
most  positive  of  religions.  It  meets  us  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  great  facts  concerning  God  and  man, 
redemption  and  salvation,  and  it  calls  for  our  obedi- 
ence. It  does  not  permit  us  to  linger  in  the  border- 
land of  doubt.  It  does  not  allow  us  time  for  the 
luxury  of  unbehef  It  blames  us  if  we  "  halt  between 
two  opinions."  It  presses  us  through  our  consciences 
and  our  affections.  It  sets  before  us  our  sin  and 
guilt,  and  it  appeals  to  our  sense  of  duty,  and  to  our 
desire  for  peace  and  blessedness  in  the  life  to  come. 
It  teaches  us  that  ''  in  none  other  is  there  salvation : 
for  neither  is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven,  that 
is  given  among  men,  wherein  we  must  be  saved."  ^ 

A  religion  must  be  positive  that  is  to  give  peace 
to  the  human  soul.  We  find  ourselves  in  existence, 
but  we   cannot  tell  of  ourselves  whence  we  came,  or 

1  St.  Matthew  vi.  24.        2  gt.  Matthew  xvi.  25.        ^  Acts  iv.  12. 


CHRIST  THE   POSITIVE  TEACHER.  105 

whither  we  are  going.  We  stand  at  the  open  grave, 
and  we  know  that  we  are  soon  to  die ;  and  we  inquire 
what  there  is  for  us  after  death.  We  know  that  we 
are  sinful,  and  we  fear  to  meet  God ;  and  we  long  to 
know  how  we  can  make  our  peace  with  Him.  We 
must  have  a  direct  and  positive  answer  to  oui  in- 
quiries. A  reHgion  of  surmises  and  uncertainties 
would  only  mock  us. 

It  is  our  mission,  as  true  disciples  and  followers  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  to  bear  our  testimony  to  the  reality 
and  power  of  this  religion.  We  are  witnesses  for 
Christ.  We  cannot  bear  any  valuable  testimony  un- 
less we  have  the  evidence  of  a  personal  experience. 
Our  influence  in  leading  men  to  Christ  will  depend 
on  the  evidence  we  can  give  them  of  the  reality  of 
this  religion.  We  should  be  able  to  speak  with  the 
authority  of  deep  spiritual  convictions,  clear  as  the 
the  light  of  morning,  positive  as  the  very  words  of 
Christ.  Whenever  the  Church  has  been  able  to  bear 
this  positive  testimony,  there  have  been  great  multi- 
tudes of  men  ready  to  believe  unto  salvation. 


VII. 

ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST. 


VII. 

ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST. 

My  sheep  hear  my  voice ^  a7id  I  know  them,  an(i  they  follow 
me:  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life. 

St.  John  x.  27-8. 

We  read  very  often  in  the  New  Testament  of  *'  eter- 
nal life."  The  phrase  is  especially  frequent  in  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  and  in  his  Epistles.  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  favorite  term  with  him;  and,  what  is 
especially  noteworthy,  when  John  uses  the  term,  he 
is  generally  quoting  the  words  of  Christ.  It  was  a 
favorite  term  with  Him.  Another  thing  to  be  ob- 
served about  the  term  eternal  life  is  this :  that  our 
Lord  seems  to  have  used  it  to  express  the  one  leading 
purpose  of  His  mission  to  this  world.  He  had  come 
among  men  not  as  a  philosopher,  or  as  a  teacher  of 
science,  or  of  politics,  or  of  a  new  civilization,  but  to 
impart  to  men  that  which  He  is  continually  calling 
eternal  life.  Thus  we  read,  in  the  3d  chapter  of 
John,  ''  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  ^  We  read 
in  another  passage,  that  the  Son  of  man  was  to  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  that  "  whosoever  believeth, 
may  in  Him  have  eternal  life."  ^  Putting  these  texts 
together,  the  teaching  is  very  significant.     God's  love 

1  St.  John  iii.  16.  2  gt.  John  iii.  15. 


no         ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE    GIFT    OF   CHRIST. 

for  the  world  has  this  for  its  final  purpose,  that  lost 
men  may  have  eternal  life;  and  the  death  of  our 
Saviour  on  the  cross  was  to  secure  eternal  life  for  those 
who  believe.  This  purpose  of  His  redemptive  work  is 
kept  always  in  the  foreground.  He  is  the  Lord  of  life. 
In  Him  was  life  in  very  deed.  So  that  He  was  able  to 
give  eternal  life  to  men.  He  left  His  seat  of  glory, 
and  became  incarnate  in  order  to  be  able  to  offer  this 
life  to  men.  He  would  not  shun  the  cross.  He  drank 
the  cup  of  sorrow,  in  order  that  He  might  give  eternal 
life  to  as  many  as  should  believe  on  Him. 

Let  MS  consider  this  special  gift  of  eternal  life. 

I. 

First,  what  is  eternal  life? 

The  word  eternal  stands  for  that  which  is  endless, 
if  any  word  does.  It  is  the  word  used  to  set  forth 
the  duration  of  the  being  of  God,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  soul  of  man. 

The  word  life  is  used  in  the  Bible  as  the  opposite  of 
death.  God  said  to  Adam,."  in  the  day  that  thou  eat- 
est  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."^  Death  was  to  be 
the  punishment  of  his  disobedience.  The  threatening 
was  fulfilled  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  death  of  our 
first  parents,  —  perhaps  also  in  their  physical  death. 
In  the  New  Testament  we  read  that  "  through  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  through  sin."  '^ 
We  read  in  various  places  that  men,  in  their  natural 
state,  are  "  dead  "  in  trespasses  and  sins.  That  is  the 
way  in  which  the  New  Testament  speaks  of  our  condi- 
^  Gen.  ii.  17.  2  Rom.  v.  12. 


ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST.         Ill 

tion  by  nature.  We  are  said  to  be  dead  in  sin.  So  that 
the  hfe  which  Christ  came  to  give  us,  is  the  opposite 
of  this  spiritual  death.  He  came  among  men  to  give 
a  new  spiritual  life  to  as  many  as  should  believe  on 
Him.  "  And  you  did  He  quicken,"  that  is,  make 
alive,  "when  ye  were  dead  through  your  trespasses 
and  sins,  wherein  aforetime  ye  walked,  according  to 
the  course  of  this  world."  ^  This  new  Hfe  is  called 
eternal,  to  indicate  its  duration. 

It  follows  that  the  term  eternal  life  does  not,  by 
any  means,  signify  the  same  thing  as  immortality. 
The  Bible  teaches  very  clearly  that  all  men  are  im- 
mortal. Immortality  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  the 
image  of  God  which  was  given  to  man  at  his  creation. 
The  common  and  instinctive  beliefs  of  men  have 
included  the  assurance  of  immortality.  Pagan  litera- 
ture, as  well  as  Christian,  is  full  of  the  hope  and 
assurance  of  immortality.  Our  Saviour  speaks  as  con- 
fidently of  the  continued  existence  of  wicked  men, 
beyond  this  Hfe,  as  He  does  of  the  continued  existence 
of  good  men.  So  that,  it  is  plain  He  did  not  come  to 
the  world  to  give  immortality  to  men,  but  to  give  that 
which  would  make  immortality  an  infinite  blessing. 
All  men  are,  by  nature,  immortal,  but  these  same 
men  need  that  eternal  life  which  our  Saviour  came 
to  impart.  "  My  sheep,"  He  says,  "  hear  My  voice, 
and  they  follow  Me,  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  Hfe." 
We  read  in  the  Epistle  of  John,  ''  No  murderer  hath 
eternal  life  abiding  in  him."^  But  every  murderer 
has  an  immortal  soul  abiding  in  him.  We  are  all 
immortal,  but  we  all  need  this  gift  of  eternal  life. 

1  Ephesians  ii.  1-2.  2  j  John  iii.  15. 


112         ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST. 

This  gift  is  not  the  mere  prolongation  of  our  pres- 
ent existence.  That  would  not  be  a  true  salvation. 
To  live  forever,  as  we  are  now,  —  with  our  weaknesses, 
our  infirmities  of  temper,  our  narrow  views  and  sym- 
pathies, our  evil  habits  of  thought  and  feeling,  our 
jealousies  and  ambitions,  disappointments  and  failures, 
with  a  sense  of  sin  and  of  guilt,  —  an  immortality  such 
as  this  would  not  be  the  eternal  life  which  our  Saviour 
came  to  give  to  those  who  follow  Him. 

Eternal  life  is  His  special  gift.  It  is  added  to  the 
old  life.  It  is  the  result  of  a  special  divine  work  in 
the  soul,  which  makes  one  a  child  of  God.  It  is  not 
developed  from  the  old  life.  It  is  a  new  life,  which 
makes  one  a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  Our  Saviour 
said  :  "  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life."  And  again 
He  said,  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I 
shall  give  him,  shall  never  thirst ;  but  the  water  that 
I  shall  give  him  shall  become  in  him  a  well  of  water 
springing  up  unto  eternal  life."  ^ 

II. 

How  do  we  secttre  this  gift  of  eternal  life  ? 

It  comes  to  us  by  faith,  for  we  read :  "  For  this  is 
the  will  of  my  Father,  that  every  one  that  beholdeth 
the  Son,  and  believeth  on  Him,  should  have  eternal 
life."  ^  This  *'  believing  on  Him,"  is  much  more  than 
the  assent  to  a  creed.  It  is  the  religion  of  the  heart, 
not  that  of  the  head,  which  brings  us  eternal  life. 
*'  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and 
they  follow  me,  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life."     It 

1  St.  John  iv.  14.  2  gt_  John  vi.  40. 


ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST.         II3 

is  that  belief  in  Christ  which  includes  a  loving  trust 
in  Him,  and  which  brings  us  unto  personal  union  with 
Him,  so  that  we  follow  him :  it  is  this  which  brings  to 
us  eternal  life. 

There  is  a  reason  why  we  receive  the  gift  of  eternal 
Hfe  through  believing.  It  is  not  possible  to  receive  it 
otherwise.  For  it  is  by  believing  in  Christ  that  we 
come  into  sympathy  with  Him,  and  with  the  spirit  of 
His  life.  We  do  not  gain  the  best  influences  even 
from  a  human  teacher  and  guide,  unless  we  first  believe 
in  him,  and  give  ourselves  up  to  his  guidance.  It  is 
through  a  complete  sympathy  between  him  and  us 
that  our  nature  is  opened  to  the  best  things  he  has  to 
impart.  Even  so,  when  we  open  our  hearts  to  the 
influence  of  the  Redeemer,  and  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
His  life,  and  become  His  followers,  we  are  prepared 
to  receive  the  gift  of  eternal  life.  ''We  love,  because 
He  first  loved  us."  ^  '*  He  that  loveth  not,  knoweth 
not  God,  for  God  is  love."^  When  we  have  eternal 
life,  we  are  brought  into  such  intimate  relations  with 
Him,  that  we  know  Him,  and  our  "  fellowship  is  with 
the  Father,  and  with  his  son  Jesus  Christ."  ^  It  is  only 
as  our  hearts  are  given  to  Him  that  we  can  possibly 
enter  into  this  intimate  communion  with  Him. 

III. 

W/iaf  are  the  signs  a7id  proof s  that  one  has  the  gift  of 
eternal  life? 

"  The  witness  is  this,"  says  the  apostle  John,  "  that 
God  gave  unto  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his 

1  I  John  iv.  19.  2  I  John  iv.  8.  ^  i  John  i.  3. 


114         ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST. 

Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son,  hath  the  Hfe  ;  he  that  hath 
not  the  Son  of  God,  hath  not  the  Hfe."  ^  If  then  we 
are  united  with  Christ  by  a  Hving  faith,  we  may  be 
sure  that  we  have  eternal  Hfe.  So  we  read  in  the 
next  verse  :  —  "  These  things  have  I  written  unto  you, 
that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  Hfe;  even 
unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God." 
This  is  the  inner  light,  and  token  that  we  have  eternal 
life,  —  that  we  believe  on  the  Son. 

There  are  other  tokens.  "  We  know  that  we  have 
passed  out  of  death  into  life,  because  we  love  the 
brethren."  ^  This  is  a  test  which  we  can  easily  apply 
to  ourselves.  So  there  is  the  broader  test :  "  By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  ^  Or  we  have  this  :  "  He 
that  soweth  unto  his  own  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap 
corruption,  but  he  that  soweth  unto  the  Spirit,  shall 
of  the  Spirit  reap  eternal  life."  ^  Best  of  all  tests  is 
this,  which  our  Lord  has  given  us :  —  ''  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth  my  word,  and  believ- 
eth  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  cometh 
not  into  judgment  but  hath  passed  out  of  death  into 
life."  5 

IV. 

We  come  next  to  the  question :  —  As  to  the  begin- 
ning of  eternal  life;  when  do  we  have  it?  Is  it  ours 
at  the  present  time,  or  is  it  reserved  for  the  life  to 
come? 

It  is  natural  to  think  of  our  life  in  this  world  as 
separated  very  far  from  the  life  hereafter.     The  classic 

1  I  John  V.  II-I2.  3  Mat.  vii.  i6. 

2  I  John  iii.  14.  4  Gal.  vi.  8. 

5  St.  John  V.  24. 


ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST.         I15 

religions  taught  that  the  home  of  departed  souls  was 
far  away :  in  some  place  difficult  of  access  ;  —  under 
the  world,  or  on  some  mountain  summit,  or  some 
island  in  remote  seas,  or  on  some  planet  or  star.  The 
pagan  religions  of  modern  times  have  held  to  this 
notion  of  the  ancients  of  a  complete  separation  be- 
tween life  in  this  world,  and  the  life  beyond,  and  of 
a  distant  and  almost  inaccessible  Heaven. 

But  this  was  not  the  tendency  of  the  teaching  of 
Christ.  As  He  brought  God  nearer  to  men,  as  an 
object  of  personal  love  and  of  trust,  so  He  brought 
the  other  world  near  to  men.  It  is  the  "  Father's 
house."  The  angels  are  interested  in  our  lives,  and 
they  rejoice  when  we  come  to  repentance.  The  law 
of  sympathy  is  the  law  of  the  universe  and  we  are  one 
family,  in  earth  and  heaven.  He  **  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light  in  the  gospel."  ^  He  brings  the 
life  here  into  close  connection  with  the  life  there.  He 
had  Himself  just  come  out  of  the  spiritual  world.  He 
was  among  men  as  one  who  had  grown  familiar  with 
that  world,  and  who  was  able  to  unfold  its  mysteries. 

He  spoke  of  the  gift  of  eternal  life  as  a  present  gift. 
"  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and 
they  follow  me,  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life."  It 
is  not,  I  will  give  eternal  life :  but  now,  while  they  are 
following  me,  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life.  He  said 
also,  "  he  that  believeth  hath  eternal  Hfe."  He  has 
already  received  it  when  he  believes.  "  He  that  eateth 
my  flesh,  and  drinketh  my  blood  hath  eternal  life."  *^ 
To  eat  the  flesh,  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of 
man  is  evidently  an  expression  to  be  understood  not 

1  2  Tim.  i.  10.  2  St.  John  vi.  54. 


Il6         ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST. 

in  a  literal,  but  in  a  figurative  sense,  and  it  denotes  a 
reception  by  faith  of  the  Crucified  One,  whose  body 
was  broken  for  us,  and  whose  blood  was  shed  for  the 
remission  of  our  sins.  So  that  the  words  teach  us  in 
another  form  that  those  have  eternal  life,  who  truly 
receive  the  Saviour  who  has  borne  our  sins  in  His 
own  body. 

I  find  the  same  meaning  in  the  other  passages  that 
have  been  quoted.  *'  No  murderer  hath  eternal  life 
abiding  in  him."  It  is  not,  no  murderer  shall  inherit 
eternal  life,  but  no  murderer  hath  this  life  at  the  time 
when  he  is  a  murderer.  But  "  he  that  heareth  my 
word,  and  believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  eter- 
nal life."  In  quite  another  form  our  Saviour  said 
to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst, 
but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  become 
in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  unto  eternal 
life."  1 

Without  quoting  the  other  texts  which  confirm  this 
teaching,  these  are  enough  to  show  that  eternal  life 
is  the  present  possession  of  the  true  believer.  Too 
long  we  have  thought  of  it  as  future,  —  a  gift  to  be 
imparted  after  we  leave  this  world.  But  in  fact, 
we  have  eternal  life  abiding  in  us  now,  if  we  are 
true  believers  and  followers  of  Christ.  ''  Beloved, 
now  are  we  children  of  God,  and  it  is  not  yet  made 
manifest  what  we  shall  be.  We  know  that  if  He 
shall  be  manifested  we  shall  be  like  Him ;  for  we 
shall  see  Him  even  as  He  is."  ^  We  are  the  sons  of 
God  not  in  that  general  sense  in  which  all  men  whom 

1  St.  John  iv.  14.  2  I  John  iii.  2. 


ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF  CHRIST.         1 17 

He  has  created  are  sometimes  said  to  be  His  sons, 
but  in  that  special  and  profound  sense  in  which  those 
who  have  been  renewed  by  the  Spirit  are  the  sons  of 
God.  ''  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to 
them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  ^  Our  names  are 
already  in  the  book  of  life ;  our  treasures  are  ''  laid 
up  in  heaven ;  "  ''  we  have  now  the  spirit  of  adoption 
whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father;  "2  u^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 
Spirit  witnessing  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  born  of 
God,"  so  that  we  live  ''  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invis- 
ible," and  we  are  running  our  race  "  looking  unto 
Jesus  the  Author  and  Perfecter  of  our  faith."  3 


If,  then,  we  have  eternal  life  abiding  in  us,  what  is 
the  relation  of  our  life  in  this  world  to  the  life  beyond? 

It  will  not  answer  to  say  that  there  is  no  difference 
between  the  present  and  the  future.  Our  Saviour 
always  spoke  of  the  other  life  as  a  great  advance 
upon  the  present.  He  did  not  seek  to  break  down 
the  separating  wall  between  the  life  here  and  the  life 
there.  He  brings  Heaven  very  near,  but  never  so 
near  as  to  make  it  common.  He  never  lays  aside 
the  reserve  which  the  writers  of  the  Bible  always  use 
when  they  speak  of  Heaven.  He  said  to  His  dis- 
ciple, ^'Whither  I  go  thou  canst  not  follow  me 
now."  *  There  must  be  a  time  of  patient  waiting  for 
the  promised  inheritance.  When  He  ascended  to 
Heaven,  '*  a  cloud  received  Him  out  of  the  sight  "^  of 

1  Rom.  viii.  I.  3  Heb.  xii.  2. 

2  Rom.  viii.  15.  4  St.  John  xiii.  36. 

^  Acts  i.  9. 


Il8         ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST. 

His  disciples.  It  is  not  the  will  of  God  that  we 
should  look  beyond  that  cloud,  so  long  as  we  are  in 
the  flesh.  If  we  knew  too  much  of  Heaven  we 
should  be  unfitted  for  our  duties  here.  The  Apostle 
Paul  had  been  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven, 
which  he  calls  "  Paradise,"  and  he  was  in  a  strait  be- 
twixt the  two,  having  the  desire  to  depart  even  from 
the  abundant  labors  of  the  Apostolic  church,  that  he 
"  might  be  with  Christ."  ^  We  have  none  of  us  been 
caught  up  into  Paradise,  but  it  is  our  privilege  to 
have  spiritual  experiences  such  that  we  can  know 
something  of  the  blessedness  of  the  redeemed.  Presi- 
dent Edwards  recorded  in  his  journal  that  he  had 
often  enjoyed  such  intimate  communion  with  God 
that  he  could  not  conceive  of  anything  higher  even 
among  the  saints  in  Heaven.^  I  am  quite  sure  that 
it  is  the  privilege  of  those  who  share  the  gift  of  eter- 
nal life,  to  live  so  near  to  the  spiritual  world  that  it 
will  cease  to  seem  strange  or  unfamiliar  to  them.  It 
is  not  far  away,  but  near  at  hand. 

It  was  this  assurance  of  eternal  life  as  a  present 
possession,  which  gave  to  the  martyrs  their  cheerful 
constancy  in  the  presence  of  death.  It  was  this  as- 
surance which  led  the  primitive  Christians  to  call 
their  places  of  burial  *'  Cemeteries,"  that  is,  "  Cham- 
bers of  rest."  One  is  impressed  in  going  through 
the  Catacombs  at  Rome  with  the  emblems  which  are 
carved  upon  the  doors  of  the  tombs.  They  are  em- 
blems of  immortality;  suggestions  of  confident  faith 
in  the  love  and  grace  of  the  Good  Shepherd.     The 

1  Phil.  i.  23. 

'^  Life  of  Edwards  in  his  works.     His  private  journal. 


ETERNAL   LIFE,   THE   GIFT   OF   CHRIST.         II9 

hymns  which  those  Christians  sang,  their  prayers, 
and  the  early  homihes  express  the  same  faith. 

There  is  a  striking  inquiry  recently  published  of  a 
great  Englishman,  who  said,  in  the  near  view  of  death, 
"  When  my  Father  opens  the  door,  and  wants  Henry 
Edward  Manning  within,  shall  not  the  child  be  wait- 
ing on  the  step?  "  ^ 

You  recollect  that  poem  of  Mr.  Tennyson  entitled, 
"  Crossing  the  Bar :  "  — 

"  May  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell 
When  I  embark ; 
For  tho',  from  out  our  bourne  of  time  and  place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 
When  I  have  cros'd  the  bar." 

We  have  also  a  later  expression  from  the  same 
poet  in  the  lines  ''  On  the  Death  of  the  Duke  of 
Clarence,"  addressed  to  the  royal  mourners :  — 

"  The  bridal  garland  falls  upon  the  bier, 
The  shadow  of  a  crown  that  o'er  him  hung 
Has  vanished  in  the  shadow  cast  by  death. 
.    .    .    Yet  be  comforted, 
For  if  this  earth  be  ruled  by  perfect  Love, 
Then  after  his  brief  range  of  blameless  days. 
The  toll  of  funeral  in  an  angel  ear 
Sounds  happier  than  the  merriest  Marriage  bell. 
The  face  of  Death  is  toward  the  sun  of  Life, 
His  shadow  darkens  earth ;   his  truer  name 
Is  onward.     No  discordance  in  the  roll 
And  march  of  that  eternal  harmony 
Whereto  the  worlds  beat  time,  tho'  faintly  heard, 
Until  the  great  Hereafter ;  mourn  in  hope."  2 

^  Contemporary  Review,  February,  1892,  191. 
2  Poems  of  Tennyson.     Latest  volume. 


120         ETERNAL   LIFE,  THE   GIFT   OF  CHRIST. 

I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  common  in  our  time 
for  Christians  to  cherish  such  views  as  these  of  the 
reality  and  the  nearness  of  the  spiritual  world.  Life 
in  this  world  is  pleasanter  than  it  was  in  the  ages  of 
persecution.  The  interests  of- life  are  more  numer- 
ous, life  itself  is  more  intense,  and  it  may  be  that 
eternal  things  do  not  come  so  near  to  our  minds,  do 
not  kindle  the  imagination  as  they  used  to.  But 
for  all  that,  the  great  realities  of  spiritual  religion  are 
our  only  enduring  hope  and  inspiration.  There  they 
stand,  obscured,  it  may  be,  by  the  mists  of  an  Age 
of  Doubt,  but  still  the  transcendent  realities.  Our 
life  here  takes  hold  upon  the  life  to  come.  We 
already  have  eternal  life  abiding  in  us  if  we  are  truly 
in  Christ.  This  is  only  the  season  of  preparation, — 
the  time  for  the  unfolding  of  spiritual  powers,  the 
time  of  waiting.  But  that  is  the  time  of  permanent 
joy  and  blessedness.  That  is  the  world's  great  hope. 
We  attain  the  best  things  which  God  has  for  us  by 
the  simple  following  of  Christ.  "  My  sheep  hear  my 
voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me,  and  I 
give  unto  them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never 
perish,  and  no  one  shall  snatch  them  out  of  my  hand. 
My  Father,  which  hath  given  them  unto  me,  is  greater 
than  all ;  and  no  one  is  able  to  snatch  them  out  of 
the  Father's  hand." 


VIII. 

CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP. 


VIII. 
CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 

God  is  a  Spirit^  and  they  that  worship  him,  must  worship 
ill  spirit  and  truth,  St.  John  iv.  24. 

If  God  is  a  Spirit,  He  is  an  intelligent  Being.  He 
can  think,  and  feel,  and  act.  He  can  be  pleased  or 
displeased.  He  can  grant  a  request,  or  refuse  to  grant 
it.  A  spirit  is  not  a  mere  force,  or  law.  A  spirit  is  a 
life.  A  spirit  has  a  will,  a  heart,  a  conscience.  A 
spirit  is  in  the  fullest  sense,  a  person.  We  speak  of 
the  spirit,  in  distinction  from  the  body.  When  we 
say  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  we  mean  that  He  is  free  from 
the  bondage  to  matter. 

Our  Saviour  tells  us  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  in  order 
to  teach  us  how  to  worship  Him.  If  He  is  a  Spirit, 
He  can  understand  our  prayers,  and  our  praises,  and 
can  accept  our  homage.  He  knows  whether  we  wor- 
ship Him  in  sincerity.  Mere  forms  and  pretences  of 
worship  do  not  please  Him.  If  God  is  a  Spirit,  then 
**  they  that  worship  Him,  must  worship  in  spirit  and 
truth." 

I. 

What  then  is  true  worship? 

It  is  the  homage  which,  the  lower  pays  to  the  higher. 
It  springs  partly  from  a  sense  of  dependence.  It  is 
the  effort  of  weakness  to  lay  hold  upon  strength.     It 


124  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 

is  an  instinctive  movement  of  the  human  towards  the 
divine.  I  have  never  found  any  evidence  that  worship 
was  ever  learned.  It  has  always  gone  up  from  man 
to  God. 

Worship  is  aspiration.  What  we  become  will  de- 
pend upon  our  aspirations.  If  we  climb  towards  that 
which  is  only  a  little  higher  than  we  are,  we  shall  not 
rise  far  above  the  earth.  Those  who  make  pleasure, 
or  riches,  or  honor  the  chief  objects  of  life,  cannot 
expect  to  become  large,  and  generous,  and  spiritual. 
If  we  have  no  God  but  nature,  —  the  forces  and  laws 
which  science  enables  us  to  study,  —  if  we  cannot 
look  beyond  the  rising  and  the  setting  of  suns,  and  the 
fixed  laws  of  the  natural  world,  —  then  we  can  never 
mount  towards  the  realm  of  the  spiritual.  Why  then 
should  we  limit  our  aspirations?  We  start  with  a 
little  knowledge  :  —  let  us  seek  for  more.  We  know 
something  of  the  beings  who  are  near  us  :  —  shall  we 
not  extend  our  acquaintance  to  include  those  who  are 
further  away?  Shall  we  not  seek  to  know  God,  that 
we  may  become  like  Him? 

True  worship  is  the  expressio7i  of  our  thoughts,  and 
emotions  towards  God.  There  must  be  thought.  There 
must  be  emotion.  There  must  be  expression.  It  may 
be  in  words.  It  may  be  in  music.  It  may  be  by  a 
look  or  a  gesture.  The  dumb  can  worship  God.  The 
prisoner  in  his  chains  can  worship.  The  little  child 
can  worship.  The  angels  always  worship.  Worship 
is  a  natural  duty,  for  God  is  our  Maker,  and  He  is 
infinite  in  His  perfections.  It  is  our  highest  privilege- 
It  is  the  means  by  which  we  become  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature.     It  does  more  than  knowledge,  or  cul- 


CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  1 25 

ture,  or  society  to  lift  us  above  that  which  is  sordid 
and  mean.  It  makes  us  familiar  with  the  highest 
truths.  So  that  worship  rests  us  after  the  labors  of 
the  week,  by  bringing  us  into  a  new  range  of  thought 
and  of  feeling. 

Worship  should  be  Jninible  and  reverent.  "  The 
Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple,  let  all  the  earth  keep 
silence  before  Him."  ^  Worship  must  be  sincere.  We 
should  not  be  like  those  who  *'  draw  nigh  unto  God 
with  the  mouth,  and  honor  Him  with  the  Hps,  while 
the  heart  is  far  from  Him."  We  should  be  solicitous 
about  the  way  in  which  we  come  to  worship.  *'  Let  the 
words  of  my  mouth,  and  the  meditation  of  my  heart  be 
acceptable  in  thy  sight,  O  Lord,  my  rock  and  my 
Redeemer."  2  We  should  come  with  penitence  for 
our  sins,  for  ''  the  Lord  is  nigh  unto  them  that  are 
of  a  broken  heart,  and  saveth  such  as  be  of  a  con- 
trite spirit."  ^ 

True  worship  will  also  be  intelligent.  Ignorance  is 
not  the  mother  of  devotion.  *'  Ye  worship,  ye  know 
not  what,"  said  our  Lord  :  ''  Whom  therefore  ye  igno- 
rantly  worship,"  said  St.  Paul  to  the  Athenians,  **  Him 
declare  we  unto  you."  *  God  has  revealed  Himself  in 
the  life  and  teachings  of  His  Son,  and  so  we  may 
know  what  we  worship.  The  more  we  know  of  God, 
the  better  we  shall  be  prepared  to  worship  Him  in 
spirit  and  truth.  Worship  is  an  intense  personal  act 
The  whole  soul  goes  out  to  God  in  petition,  and  in 
adoration,  and  praise. 

1  Hab.  ii.  20.  3  pg,  xxxiv.  18. 

2  Ps.  xix.  14.  4  Acts  xvii.  23. 


126  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 


II. 


What  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  we  should  wor- 
ship God  ? 

Because  our  deepest  moral  instincts  point  us  towards 
worship.  We  cannot  go  so  far  back  in  the  history  of 
mankind  as  to  trace  the  beginnings  of  worship.  As  far 
as  we  can  find  any  written  records  worship  has  had  a 
large  place  in  the  life  of  man.  If  we  grope  our  way 
beyond  the  earliest  writings,  and  beyond  the  traditions 
that  live  in  the  earhest  poetry,  we  shall  find  monu- 
ments that  are  connected  with  worship.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  tell  when  men  began  to  worship.  So  far  as  we 
can  learn,  the  practice  of  some  form  of  worship  has 
come  down  from  primitive  times,  as  one  of  the  things 
which  the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul  has  taught  to  men 
of  every  race,  in  every  quarter  of  the  world. 

Turning  next  to  the  Bible,  we  find  that  men  wor- 
shipped God  when  the  world  was  new.  We  are  not 
told  that  they  were  taught  to  worship  any  more  than 
that  they  were  taught  to  eat,  or  to  sleep.  We  find  Abel 
presenting  an  oblation  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock. 
Noah  offered  a  sacrifice  when  he  took  possession  of 
the  desolated  earth.  Abraham  built  altars  and  offered 
sacrifices  when  he  came  into  the  land  of  promise.  So 
did  all  the  patriarchs.  Moses,  at  the  burning  bush, 
put  his  shoes  from  his  feet,  in  token  of  reverence  for 
God.  When  he  made  known  the  words  the  Lord 
had  spoken  unto  the  people,  "  they  bowed  their 
heads  and  worshipped."  ^ 

1  Exodus  iv.  31. 


CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  12/ 

God  taught  his  people  how  to  worship.  He  ap- 
pointed the  times,  and  the  ways  of  presenting  their 
prayers  and  sacrifices,  and  their  gifts  of  treasure. 
The  Psalms  were  written  to  express  the  praises  and 
the  confessions  of  the  devout  Jews.  The  temple  at 
Jerusalem  was  a  place  of  worship,  and  the  people  of 
God  were  to  turn  towards  it  when  they  prayed.  When 
the  Jews  returned  from  the  captivity,  they  rebuilt  the 
temple  in  Jerusalem,  and  they  built  synagogues  in  all 
parts  of  their  country,  as  places  for  the  regular  wor- 
ship of  God  by  prayers  and  praises,  and  the  reading 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  In  the  time  of  Christ  these 
synagogues  were  open  every  Sabbath  day  for  wor- 
ship. There  our  Saviour  was  accustomed  to  worship 
while  He  dwelt  at  Nazareth,  and  during  His  public 
ministry,  wherever  He  was  when  the  Sabbath  over- 
took Him. 

It  is  very  instructive  that  Jesus  went  every  year  to 
the  temple  in  Jerusalem,  at  the  time  of  the  Passover, 
leaving  for  this  purpose  His  work  of  teaching  and  of 
healing,  —  going  the  long  journeys  on  foot  with  His 
disciples,  that  he  might  worship  in  the  house  of  His 
Father.  On  two  occasions  He  drove  out  those  that 
bought  and  sold  in  the  temple,  saying,  "  It  is  written, 
my  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer,  but  ye 
have  made  it  a  den  of  robbers."  ^ 

The  Apostles  also  worshipped  In  the  temple  and  In 
the  synagogues.  Paul  said  in  one  place,  *'  I  went  up 
to  Jerusalem  for  to  worship."  ^  He  had  left  his  work 
among  the  churches  of  Macedonia,  where  he  was 
greatly   needed,  and   had  taken  a  journey  of  many 

1  St.  Matthew  xxi.  13.  ^  Acts  xxiv.  11. 


128  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP. 

hundred  miles  that  he  might  be  at  Jerusalem  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  Peter  and  John  went  up  to  the 
temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer.  The  early  disciples 
preferred  to  worship  in  consecrated  places,  in  the 
temple  or  in  the  synagogues.  But  the  worship  was 
much  more  to  them  than  the  place.  When  they  were 
shut  out  from  consecrated  places  they  used  to  wor- 
ship in  private  houses ;  and  when  these  were  unsafe 
they  went  to  the  wilderness,  to  the  caves,  to  the  cata- 
combs,—  to  any  place  where  a  company  of  believers 
could  be  gathered.  Their  worship  was  very  simple 
The  purpose  was  always  to  come  into  communion 
with  God.  They  read  His  word  together.  They  sang 
psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs.  They  united 
in  prayers.  They  made  offerings  for  the  poor  saints 
on  the  Lord's  day.  They  united  on  the  First  day  of 
the  week  in  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper.  Some  of 
the  words  they  used  have  been  preserved.  Very 
early  they  began  to  use  the  Magnificat :  "  My  soul 
doth  magnify  the  Lord ;  "  ^  and  the  Benedictus: 
"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  for  He  hath 
visited  and  redeemed  His  people."  ^  The  Gloria  in 
Excelsis,  which  we  can  trace  almost  to  the  first  cen- 
tury, the  Gloria  Patri,  of  the  fourth  century,  and 
later,  the  Dies  Irae,  and  the  hymns  of  St.  Bernard,  — 
all  these  show  how  the  religious  emotions  of  devout 
Christians  have  gone  forth  in  song.  Some  of  the 
prayers  of  the  early  church  are  preserved  in  the 
ancient  Liturgies.  Some  of  the  homilies  of  the  early 
preachers  are  also  preserved,  and  they  are  our  best 
models    to-day,    for   their    simple    earnestness,   their 

'  Luke  i.  46.  2  Luke  i.  68. 


CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  129 

close  following  of  the  Scriptures,  and  their  evangeli- 
cal fervor. 

When  the  church  gained  freedom  from  persecution, 
and  increased  in  numbers  and  in  wealth,  the  modes  of 
worship  became  more  formal  and  stately.  The  most 
beautiful  and  the  most  costly  buildings  in  the  Christian 
countries  of  the  old  world,  are  the  old  churches  and 
cathedrals.  The  genius  of  the  great  artists  was  em- 
ployed in  painting  for  these  cathedrals  scenes  from 
the  life  of  our  Lord,  and  from  the  Old  Testament. 
Whenever  the  spiritual  Hfe  of  the  church  has  dechned 
the  worship  has  become  formal ;  but  the  revival  of 
the  religious  life  has  always  been  shown  in  the  revival 
of  true  worship :  —  in  the  return  to  simple  and  earnest 
prayer,  —  the  singing  of  hymns  by  the  people,  —  the 
reading  of  the  word  of  God,  direct  and  affectionate 
preaching,  —  the  devout  and  reverent  use  of  the  sac- 
raments of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Thus 
pure  religion  has  always  led  to  the  worship  of  God  in 
spirit  and  truth. 

ra. 

It  remains  for  us  to  Inquire :  —  How  shall  we  wor- 
ship? 

Our  Saviour  did  not  give  us  any  definite  forms  of 
worship,  like  those  in  the  laws  of  Moses.  He  taught 
that  the  form  is  less  important,  and  the  spirit  more 
important.  The  Jews  said  that  ''  in  Jerusalem  is  the 
place  where  men  ought  to  worship."  It  had  been  so 
under  the  Old  Testament.  But  Jesus  said :  *'  The 
hour  Cometh  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshippers 

9 


I30  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 

shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  truth."  Men 
are  not  limited  to  the  mountain  in  Samaria,  nor  to 
Jerusalem,  nor  to  any  other  place.  God  is  a  Spirit, 
and  if  we  worship  in  spirit  and  truth,  He  will  accept 
our  worship. 

If  God  be  present  in  every  place,  then  all  our  life 
should  be  a  psalm  of  adoration  and  praise.  Our  Lord 
said,  "  Enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut 
the  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret,  and 
thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense 
thee."  ^  The  most  secret  place  becomes  the  very 
gate  of  heaven,  when  a  devout  soul  enters  into  com- 
munion with  God,  and  his  prayers  go  up,  and  answers 
come  back,  as  the  angels  went  and  came  on  the  ladder 
whose  top  reached  unto  heaven.  We  are  taught  also 
that  we  should  worship  God  with  our  families,  and  I 
cannot  understand  how  any  one  can  neglect  to  render 
praise  and  prayer,  from  day  to  day,  in  his  own  home. 

God  has  also  appointed  public  worship,  and  we 
have  the  example  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Apostles 
to  recommend  this  way  of  worship.  I  do  not  find 
that  our  Lord  has  appointed  any  special  forms  of 
public  worship.  There  is  absolutely  no  evidence, 
from  the  New  Testament,  or  from  Church  History 
that  any  one  method  of  worship  is  of  divine  appoint- 
ment. **  Let  all  things  be  done  decently,  and  in 
order,"  ^  certainly.  Let  every  part  of  the  service  be  for 
edification.  Let  the  Word  of  God  be  read.  Let  there 
be  the  service  of  song  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Let 
there  be  devout  prayer.  We  can  easily  make  out 
such  points  as  these  to  guide  us  in  our  worship.  But 
1  St.  Matt.  vi.  6.  2  I  Cor.  xiv.  40. 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP.  I31 

we  are  left  free  in  respect  to  the  method  of  using  them. 
When  the  Society  of  Friends  meet  on  the  First  day  of 
the  week,  in  their  plain  and  simple  places  of  prayer, — 
like  that  in  Amesbury,  where  the  poet  Whittier  used 
to  go ;  —  when  they  sit  in  silence  until  the  Spirit 
moves  some  brother  or  sister  to  repeat  passages  from 
the  Bible ;  or  to  speak,  a  word  of  exhortation,  or  of 
confession,  or  of  prayer ;  I  have  no  doubt  that  God 
accepts  their  worship.  That  plain  building  is  no 
longer  merely  a  Quaker  Meeting  House.  It  becomes 
the  house  of  God,  and  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 

When  our  brethren  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  unite 
in  worship,  in  the  use  of  their  Liturgy,  rich  with  the 
litanies  and  the  prayers  of  the  ancient  Churches,  — 
with  its  regular  order  of  lessons  from  the  Bible,  with 
its  hymns,  and  chants ;  —  and  when  they  preach  the 
gospel  as  they  are  wont  to  preach,  I  am  sure  they 
also  are  accepted,  and  receive  abundant  spiritual  gifts. 
And  when  we,  the  children  of  the  Puritans,  who  are 
intermediate  between  these  extremes ;  —  when  we 
worship,  after  the  manner  of  our  fathers ;  —  in  a  way 
that  is  simple,  and  free,  and  reverent ;  using  hymns, 
and  anthems,  reading  God's  word,  and  chanting  the 
old  Psalms,  joining  in  the  common  prayer ;  adminis- 
tering the  sacraments ;  and  magnifying  the  office  of 
preaching  the  word ;  we  also  have  constant  evidence 
that  God  accepts  this  way  of  worship. 

Let  me  emphasize  the  truth,  that  the  controlling 
idea  in  all  our  religious  services  should  be  the  idea 
of  worship.  We  should  not  go  to  the  house  of  God, 
as  we  go  to  a  place  of  entertainment.  Still  less  should 
we  go  for  display,  or  for  ostentation.     Nor  should  we 


132  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 

go  chiefly  for  intellectual  gratification.  The  charac- 
teristic thing  is  worship.  We  come  together  as  a  Chris- 
tian people,  believing  in  God,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour ;  to  honor  God,  and  learn  to  do  His  will.  We 
call  these  places  of  worship  Meeting-houses,  according 
to  the  old  idea,  —  of  places  where  God  meets  with  His 
people.  The  great  Person  here  is,  not  the  preacher, 
nor  any  one  in  the  congregation :  —  it  is  the  Infinite 
Spirit ;   whom  we  should  worship  in  spirit  and  truth. 

Not  long  ago,  a  very  intelligent  and  cultured  Roman 
Catholic  woman  was  asked,  how  it  was  possible  for 
her  to  go  constantly  to  a  church  where  the  wor- 
shipers were  poor  people,  and  servants,  —  people 
whose  social  position  and  whose  habits  were  so  dif- 
ferent from  her  own.  The  woman  repHed  :  *'  I  never 
think  of  that.  I  go  to  worship  God  in  His  house,  and 
what  is  it  to  me  if  the  Lord's  poor  are  there  also  ?  "  It 
may  be  that  Protestants  have  some  lessons  to  learn 
from  their  Catholic  neighbors.  They  go  to  the 
church  as  the  house  of  God.  They  go  to  worship, 
and  it  may  be  that  their  worship  is  more  acceptable 
to  God,  than  that  of  some  Protestant  congregations. 
We  need  more  than  any  other  thing,  a  revival  of  the 
spirit  of  worship ;  of  worship  like  that  which  finds 
expression  in  the  Psalms ;  with  their  humble  confes- 
sions of  sin  :  their  earnest  petitions ;  and  their  sincere 
offerings  of  praise  and  thanksgiving. 

First,  and  most  important  in  our  worship  is  prayer. 
We  acknowledge  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the 
Spirit.  We  give  thanks  for  His  mercies.  We  confess 
our  sins,  and  ask  for  pardon.  We  ask  for  protection, 
and  for  grace.     It  is  in  the  very  idea  of  the  common 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP.  1 33 

prayer,  that  we  all  unite  in  the  petitions.  Why  should 
not  each  one  make  the  prayer  his  own,  and  join, 
silently,  but  heartily  in  the  great  petitions  for  pardon, 
and  grace,  and  salvation? 

I  have  been  deeply  impressed,  while  attending  the 
Protestant  churches  in  Europe,  with  the  devout 
appearance  of  the  congregations.  I  used  often  to  find 
myself  in  a  church  where  a  sacred  stillness  pervaded 
the  assembly,  as  the  minister  led  our  devotions. 
Nearly  all  bowed  their  heads  in  prayer,  as  they  took 
their  places  in  the  pews.  They  listened  attentively, 
and  they  joined  in  singing  and  chanting,  as  though 
they  desired  to  have  a  part  in  the  worship.  They 
were  in  no  haste  to  leave  their  seats  after  the  benedic- 
tion. It  is  easier  to  preach  in  England  than  at  home, 
because  English  congregations  are  so  attentive,  and 
so  responsive. 

Next  to  prayer  is  praise^  as  a  part  of  worship.  This 
also  is  for  the  people.  It  is  in  sacred  song,  as  in 
prayer :  when  we  really  worship,  we  shall  seek  to 
express  our  devotion  in  simple  forms.  The  simple 
and  ancient  tunes  which  the  German  people  sing  in 
their  churches  are  very  beautiful.  There  is  an  increas- 
ing tendency,  in  the  best  churches  in  this  country,  and 
abroad,  towards  a  style  of  church  music  that  is  nearer 
the  wants  of  the  people.  The  more  of  reality  in  the 
service  of  song,  the  less  need  to  multiply  tunes,  and 
to  give  them  a  highly  artistic  character.  I  asked  a 
cultivated  German  who  had  spent  some  years  in  the 
United  States,  why  it  was  that  so  many  were  able  to 
join  in  singing  in  the  German  churches.  He  replied, 
it  is  because  we  use  the  old  hymns,  and  the  old  tunes, 


134  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 

and  the  children  are  taught  to  sing  them  in  the  day 
schools. 

He  was  right.  The  people  should  be  able  to  join 
in  the  service  of  song,  as  a  great  part  of  the  worship 
of  God.  To  make  this  a  musical  entertainment  is  to 
desecrate  it.  Whatever  emotions  are  fitting  in  the 
service  of  prayer,  are  fitting  in  the  service  of  praise. 
Congregational  singing  is  already  adopted  in  the  best 
and  most  spiritual  churches  everywhere,  for  the  largest 
part  of  the  services ;  and  where  the  people  enter  into 
it  devoutly,  it  becomes  the  most  profitable  part  of 
public  worship.  The  hymns  we  sing  should  be  full  of 
adoration  and  praise.  Not  all  the  hymns  in  our  books 
are  adapted  to  use  in  worship.  Our  hymns  should 
not  be  limited  in  their  range.  We  need  hymns 
of  penitence,  hymns  expressive  of  Christian  love,  of 
joy  and  praise,  and  adoration ;  —  hymns  to  express 
all  the  phases  of  devout  emotion,  and  experience. 
Our  hymns  should  be  packed  with  spiritual  truth,  in 
lyrical  forms. 

We  can  easily  enrich  our  services  by  giving  more 
attention  to  rythmical  song,  or  the  chant.  This  has 
been  used  much  more  than  choral  song  in  the 
churches  of  the  ages,  and  the  chanting  of  the  Psalms 
by  the  congregation,  is  the  natural  way  of  using  them 
in  public  worship.  Experience  has  shown  that  chant- 
ing is  within  the  reach  of  a  larger  number  of  people 
than  choral  tunes.  The  fact  that  many  congregations 
in  this  country  and  abroad  have  learned  to  chant, 
shows  that  it  is  quite  practicable. 

Reading  the  Scriptures  is  also  a  part  of  worship. 
God's  word  is  better  than  the  words  of  man,  and  the 


CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  135 

reading  of  the  Bible  should  have  a  large  place  in  our 
services.  The  minister  should  read  in  some  regular 
order,  so  that  in  the  course  of  time,  all  parts  of  the 
Scriptures  shall  be  read.  The  Episcopal  Church 
gives  us  an  excellent  example  in  this  respect.  Our 
interest  in  this  part  of  the  service  will  be  increased,  if 
we  open  our  Bibles  at  the  place  of  reading,  and  follow 
the  lessons  of  the  day. 

Preaching  is  also  apart  of  worship,  else  it  would  be 
out  of  place  in  these  services.  If  the  preacher  aims 
at  entertainment,  —  or  at  instruction  in  secular  matters, 
he  becomes  a  mere  lecturer,  and  has  no  place  in  the 
church  on  the  Lord's  day.  Those  are  the  best  ser- 
mons which  help  the  people  to  draw  near  to  God,  and 
send  them  home  with  a  deep  sense  of  God's  presence, 
and  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  way  of  salvation,  and  a 
strong  purpose  to  do  His  will.  If  one  would  preach 
such  sermons,  he  may  well  covet  the  best  gifts,  of 
genius,  of  learning,  of  literary  skill,  and  of  eloquence. 
No  other  advocate  pleads  for  so  holy  a  cause.  No 
other  speakers  have  the  opportunity  to  win  so 
transcendent  a  prize.  We  do  not  worship  unless 
we  listen  to  the  sermon  with  a  serious  purpose.  A 
critical  mood,  a  desire  to  be  entertained,  a  super- 
cilious spirit,  —  these  cut  one  off  from  all  real  bene- 
fit. The  usefulness  of  preaching  depends  quite 
as  much  upon  the  hearers  as  upon  the  preacher. 
"  Take  heed  how  ye  hear,"  said  our  Saviour.  We 
read  in  one  of  the  Epistles :  —  "  the  word  did  not 
profit  them,  not  being  mixed  with  faith  in  those  that 
heard  it."  ^ 

1  Heb.  iv.  2. 


136  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP. 

The  Sacraments  of  Baptism ^  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
are  the  very  highest  parts  of  worsJiip :  —  the  one  as  the 
sign  and  seal  of  our  consecration  to  God,  and  of  the 
consecration  of  our  children,  and  the  other  as  the 
token  of  our  covenant  with  Christ,  and  of  His  cove- 
nant with  us: — the  new  covenant  in  His  blood, 
''shed  for  many,  unto  remission  of  sins."  ^ 

Last  of  all,  the  benevolent  offeri^igs  we  make  are  a 
part  of  our  worship.  From  the  time  of  the  Apostles, 
these  have  had  a  place  in  the  church.  ''  Upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  as 
God  hath  prospered  him."  ^  These  gifts,  which  cost 
us  something,  may  be  better  tests  of  our  sincerity 
than  the  words  of  prayer  and  praise.  The  Lord  Jesus 
sits  over  against  the  treasury,  and  He  measures  the 
gifts  by  the  greatness  of  the  love  which  they  show. 

Thus  we  worship  God,  by  prayers,  and  hymns, 
and  anthems;  by  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  by  the  use  of 
the  Sacraments ;  and  by  the  cheerful  giving  of  our 
substance  for  the  Lord's  poor,  here,  and  in  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  We  assemble  in  these  consecrated 
places,  to  meet  the  Lord,  who  knoweth  our  hearts, 
and  to  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  truth.  Let  us  not 
give  the  highest  place  to  the  intellectual  element  in 
the  services;  or  to  the  artistic  element.  If  we  do 
this,  we  shall  watch  the  clouds,  and  the  temperature. 
We  shall  say,  have  we  not  in  our  own  libraries  better 
sermons  than  our  minister  gives  us? 

1  St.  Matthew  xxvi.  28.  2  j  Cor.  xvi.  2. 


CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  1 37 

We  need,  in  our  Congregational  churches  a  revival 
of  the  spirit  of  worship.  Every  year  there  are 
hundreds  of  young  people,  who  go  from  us  to  join 
other  communions,  where  the  element  of  worship  has 
the  leading  place  in  the  services  of  the  church. 

We  need  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  reverence.  We 
should  come  here  to  meet  the  Lord,  in  His  own 
House,  and  to  hear  from  Him  out  of  His  word.  We 
should  not  trip  lightly  in,  as  if  it  were  a  theatre. 
We  shall  do  well  to  bow  our  heads  in  prayer,  as  soon 
as  we  come  to  our  pews.  We  should  attend  devoutly 
upon  the  services  of  worship.  When  it  is  ended,  we 
should  not  rush  from  the  church  as  though  we  were 
weary  of  it.  We  should  delight  to  worship  in  the 
morning,  and  at  evening  also.  For  these  hours  of 
worship,  are  the  richest  hours  in  our  lives.  ''  A  day 
in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand."  ''  Prayers," 
says  an  old  writer,  ''are  those  most  gracious  and 
sweet  odors,  those  rich  presents  and  gifts,  which  are 
the  best  means  we  can  use  for  purchasing  all  favor  at 
the  hands  of  God."  1 

Let  us  then  honor  this  place  as  the  house  of  prayer. 
As  we  come  here  from  week  to  week,  let  it  be  to 
seek  the  blessing  of  God,  in  His  own  temple.  And 
when  the  years  shall  have  gone  by,  it  will  be  said  of 
one  and  another,  "  this  one  was  born  there."  2 

1  Hooker's  Ecclesiastical  Polity.  2  pg,  ixxxvii.  6. 


IX. 

RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO   CULTURE. 


IX. 
RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE. 

And  as  Paul  was  about  to  be  brought  into  the  castle,  he 
saith  unto  the  chief  captain.  May  I  say  something  unto  thee  ? 
And  he  said,  Dost  thou  know  Greek  ?  Acts  xxi.  37. 

The  Apostles  of  our  Lord  received  two  gifts  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost :  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the 
gift  of  tongues.  If  the  Spirit  was  manifested  in  a 
bodily  form  it  was  not  in  the  form  of  a  dove,  as  at  the 
baptism  of  our  Lord,  but  as  tongues  of  flame  sitting 
upon  each  of  them.^  The  gift  of  the  Spirit  was  the 
gift  of  spiritual  power.  The  tongues  of  flame  sug- 
gested the  means  by  which  they  were  to  reach  the 
minds  of  men.  We  have  been  reminded  quite  often 
enough  that  our  Lord  selected  ''  unlearned  and  igno- 
rant men  "  as  His  Apostles.  But  the  fishermen  of 
Galilee  were  not  sent  out  to  preach  until  they  had 
received  the  best  training  from  the  Master.  They 
had  some  means  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  letters, 
for  at  least  Matthew,  John,  and  Peter  were  able  to 
write  in  Greek,  and  no  one  of  the  twelve  seems  to 
have  been  strictly  illiterate.  Our  Lord  also  chose 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  a  very  learned  man,  who  could  speak 
in  excellent  Greek,  even  to  the  fastidious  Athenians, 

1  Acts  ii.  3. 


142         RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE. 

and  He  committed  to  this  man  of  large  gifts  and 
acquirements,  the  leading  part  in  the  work  among 
the  Gentiles. 

God  has  used  civilization  and  culture  as  means  for 
advancing  His  kingdom  from  the  beginning.  The 
Israelites  were  taught  to  say,  '*  A  Syrian  ready  to  per- 
ish was  my  father,  and  he  went  down  into  Egypt,  and 
sojourned  there,  few  in  number  .  .  .  and  the  Egypt- 
ians evil  entreated  us,  and  afflicted  us  .  .  .  and  the  Lord 
brought  us  forth  out  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand."  ^ 
But  the  leader,  whom  God  sent  to  deliver  them, 
was  a  man  "  instructed  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians,"  ^  and  he  made  use  of  the  arts  and  the 
culture  of  Egypt,  —  the  choicest  fruits  of  that  old 
civilization,  in  founding  the  Hebrew  Commonwealth. 
When,  a  thousand  years  later,  God  sent  the  Jews  into 
captivity,  they  were  carried  not  to  a  barbarous  coun- 
try, but  to  Babylon,  the  centre  of  a  wonderful  civiliza- 
tion. The  prophet  Daniel,  their  greatest  man  in  that 
age,  was  taught  in  his  youth  the  learning  and  the 
tongue  of  the  Chaldeans,^  so  that  he  became  the 
chief  of  the  wise  men  of  Babylon,  and  his  country- 
men took  back  to  their  own  land  the  knowledge  and 
the  arts  of  this  great  capital  of  the  East. 

It  is  suggestive  also  of  the  relation  of  learning  to 
religion,  that  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  wise 
men  from  the  East  came  to  worship  Him,  with  pres- 
ents of  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh.*  Religion 
comes  to  us  from  heaven,  and  it  is  not  the  province 
of  science  or  culture  to  modify  its  principles  or  de- 

1  Deut.  xxvi.  5-8.  3  ]3an.  i.  4. 

2  Acts  vii.  22.  *  St.  Matt.  ii.  11. 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE.         143 

termine  its  ends.  The  great  Apostle  did  not  preach 
in  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  teacheth ;  that  is,  he  did  not  go  to  Plato 
or  to  Aristotle  for  his  doctrines,  but  to  the  word  of 
God.  Rehgion  is  not  a  part  of  civiHzation.  It  does 
not  depend  upon  culture.  Religion  is  first  and  high- 
est, with  its  own  supreme  ends.  Culture  is  to  bring 
her  gifts  and  her  graces  and  offer  them  for  the  honor 
and  the  service  of  Christ.  Culture  is  not  the  mistress, 
but  only  the  handmaid  of  religion.  The  gospel,  re- 
vealed from  God,  is  conveyed  to  us  in  human  words 
by  the  preacher.  But  the  Church  has  availed  herself 
of  the  best  results  of  learning.  The  wise  men  of  the 
East,  and  of  the  West  as  w^ell,  have  been  bringing 
the  choicest  products  of  genius,  —  the  gifts  of  learn- 
ing and  eloquence  and  art  and  poetry  and  song,  to 
offer  them  to  the  Redeemer. 

Let  us  consider  some  of  the  ways  by  which  civiliza- 
tion, and  learning,  and  culture,  have  been  of  service  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

T. 

In  the  first  place  the  religion  of  Christ  has  depended 
very  much  upon  civilization  and  culture  for  its  exten- 
sion in  the  world.  The  gospel  has  not  been  made 
known  to  men  by  the  ministry  of  angels.  As  the 
Redeemer  was  Himself  under  the  limitations  of  a 
human  life,  so  He  has  left  his  church  subject  to  many 
of  the  conditions  of  human  activity.  ''  We  have  this 
treasure  in  earthen  vessels."  ^  Christianity  is  to  make 
its  way  partly  by  human  means. 

1  2  Corinthians  iv.  7. 


144       RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO    CULTURE. 

One  reason  why  the  reHgion  of  Christ  spread  so 
rapidly  is,  that  the  Apostles  were  able  to  speak  in  the 
Greek  language.  If  they  had  known  only  the  He- 
brew, as  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  did,  their  influence 
would  hardly  have  gone  beyond  Syria.  The  word  of 
God  was  written  at  first  for  the  people  of  Israel  in 
their  own  language.  But  when  the  time  drew  near 
for  breaking  down  the  wall  of  partition  between  the 
Jews  and  the  Gentiles,  God  provided  for  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Greek  tongue.  The 
Septuagint  version  of  the  Bible  was  one  of  the  fore- 
runners of  the  Redeemer.  You  remember  that  when 
the  Saviour  was  crucified  His  accusation  was  written 
in  Hebrew  and  Latin  and  Greek,^  because  those  lan- 
guages were  all  in  use  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  gospel 
was  to  be  given  to  the  nations  through  all  those 
tongues.  But  it  used  especially  the  Greek,  that  most 
expressive  and  flexible  of  tongues,  which  had  be- 
come, at  that  time,  the  common  language  of  culti- 
vated men.  It  contained  the  choicest  literature  which 
uninspired  men  have  produced.  It  was  the  language 
of  art,  and  it  was  to  continue  for  centuries,  the  finest 
instrument  of  culture. 

The  Apostles  could  speak  Greek  in  Antioch  and 
Alexandria  and  Athens,  and  even  in  Rome.  All  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  were  written  in  Greek, 
so  that  whoever  would  become  an  interpreter  of  the 
Word,  is  drawn  towards  that  language,  and  so  brought 
under  the  influence  of  the  classic  models  of  speech. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  claim  that  He  who  orders  all 
things  in  the  interest  of  His  church  had  been  prepar- 

1  St.  John  xix.  20. 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE.         1 45 

ing  the  language  and  literature  of  Greece,  by  the 
genius  and  culture  of  so  many  historians  and  philoso- 
phers and  poets,  to  become  a  fit  medium  by  which 
the  words  of  the  Son  of  man  should  be  borne,  not 
only  over  the  earth,  but  down  the  centuries  to  the 
latest  time. 

Another  reason  of  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Chris- 
tian rehgion  in  the  early  centuries  was  the  political 
organization  of  the  Roman  empire.  Our  Lord  came 
in  the  age  of  Augustus.  The  Roman  power  had 
welded  together  the  principal  countries  of  the  world, 
so  that  the  Apostles  did  not  have  to  make  their  way 
among  independent  and  jealous  tribes.  The  great 
missionary  journeys  of  St.  Paul,  extending  over  the 
provinces  of  western  Asia,  and  of  southern,  and 
perhaps,  western  Europe,  — journeys  of  many  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  show  how  much  the  Apostles  were 
assisted  by  the  imperial  rule  of  Rome.  To  borrow 
the  words  of  a  recent  writer,  '^  The  world  had  first  to 
be  levelled  down  into  one  vast  Empire,  and  the  stern 
legionaries,  —  those  massive  hammers  of  all  the 
earth,  —  as  they  paved  the  great  highways  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  were,  though 
they  knew  it  not,  fulfilling  Hebrew  prophecy,  —  pre- 
paring the  way  of  the  Lord,  making  straight  in  the 
desert  an   highway  for  our  God."  ^ 

So  "  the  earth  helped  the  woman."  The  Apostles 
found  a  thousand  agencies  opening  the  way  for  them. 
It  was  not  only  the  Roman  roads,  and  the  approach 
towards  a  common  language,  but  the  communion  of 
thought  among  the  most  enlightened   people.     The 

1  Culture  and  Religion.     Principal  Shairp,  p.  42. 

10 


146         RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO   CULTURE. 

Septuagint  version  of  the  Scriptures  became  one  of 
the  classics  of  Alexandria.  The  Apostles  were  able 
to  quote  from  that  version.  The  four  Gospels  made 
their  way  as  a  part  of  the  literature  of  the  time. 
Questions  relating  to  the  Christian  faith  were  dis- 
cussed by  literary  men.  St.  Paul  quotes  the  heathen 
poets,  and  appeals  to  the  Roman  law,  and  he  shows 
an  acquaintance  with  the  religion  of  the  Romans. 
The  Letters  of  Pliny  made  the  new  faith  known 
where  the  Apostles  could  not  go.  The  influence  of 
civilization  tended  to  raise  men  above  their  old  super- 
stitions, and  so  to  prepare  the  way  for  Christianity. 
As  the  early  Christian  literature  grew  up,  there 
were  a  thousand  channels  by  which  it  could  make 
its  way  among  the  more  enlightened  people  of  the 
empire. 

The  same  influences  have  aided  the  progress  of 
religion  in  later  times.  The  Renaissance  led  to  the 
revival  of  learning,  and  this  prepared  the  way  for 
the  Reformation.  If  the  art  of  printing,  and  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  books,  gave  an  impulse 
to  thought,  and  added  to  the  number  of  intelligent 
people,  it  prepared  the  way  for  the  work  of  Luther, 
and  Calvin,  and  John  Knox.  Commerce  has  been  a 
valuable  auxiUary  of  Christian  missions.  The  popu- 
lous nations  of  the  East,  which  were  shut  out  for  so 
many  centuries  from  commercial  intercourse  with  the 
West,  are  now  studying  our  systems  of  education, 
and  government,  and  religion,  and  they  are  learning 
how  much  the  Christian  religion  has  done  for  the 
physical  well-being  of  the  people,  and  for  their  intel- 
ligence and   morality.     It  is  a  fact  of  great  signifi- 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO    CULTURE.         1 47 

cance  to  the  people  of  India  and  of  Japan  that  the 
most  advanced  science,  and  the  richest  Hterature,  and 
the  most  Hberal  systems   of  government  are  found 
among  the  nations  that  are  Christian.      It  looks  as 
though  the  indirect  influence  of  the  Christian  world, 
—  the  hght  that  goes  out  of  itself  into  all  the  earth, — 
was  doing  more  for  the  spread  of  Christianity  than  all 
the  direct  influences  which  the  church  can  use.     We 
are  sending  our  missionaries  into  all  those  countries 
it  is  true,  and  they  are  successful  beyond  what  we 
could  reasonably  expect.     But  it  is  a  great  advantage 
to   missions    among   the    eastern    races   that  we  can 
invite  these   people  to  be  represented    in  the  great 
expositions  of  the  industry  and  art  of  the  world  :   and 
that  we  can  ask  them  to  send  delegates  to  the  world's 
Parliament  of  Religions.     Intelligence  is  rapidly  dis- 
seminated even  in  eastern  Asia.     China  is  now  send- 
ing her  most  intelligent  and  sagacious  observers  to 
study  the  civilization  of  Europe  and  America.     India 
is  learning,  under  British  rule,  the  value  of  schools, 
and  of  an    intelligent  and   honest  administration   of 
affairs.     Twenty-five  years  ago,  President  Julius  H. 
Seelye  was  invited  to  deliver  a  series  of  addresses  on 
religious  subjects  to  educated  Hindoos  in  Bombay, 
just  as,  in  more  recent  years,  Dr.  Joseph  Cook,  and 
Dr.  John  Henry  Barrows,  and  other  Christian  scholars 
have   been    asked    to    address    the    same   classes    of 
people  in  India.    The  attention  which  these  addresses 
have  secured,  from   great  numbers  of  the  most  in- 
telligent people  in  those  great  centres  of  influence, 
shows    that    the    light    has    penetrated    far    beyond 
the  direct  influence  of  missionaries.     Japan,  also,  is 


148        RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO    CULTURE. 

awakening  from  the  sleep  of  ages,  and  developing 
a  new  power,  and  taking  a  new  place  among  the 
nations.  Thus  every  advance  in  knowledge  and  the 
arts  of  life  tends  to  the  extension  of  the  religion  of 
Christ. 

11. 

In  the  second  place,  religion  has  depeiided  upon 
learning  and  cidture  for  its  defence.  St.  Paul  says 
that  he  was  "  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel."  ^  If 
God  has  given  a  written  revelation  to  His  people.  He 
has  left  it  to  their  fidelity  and  skill  to  preserve  the 
integrity  of  the  revelation,  and  to  defend  it  from 
the  attacks  of  skeptical  philosophy. 

The  manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  for  example,  have 
not  been  preserved  from  the  errors  of  copyists. 
There  is  need  of  the  most  careful  and  accurate 
scholarship  to  secure  a  correct  text.  The  translators 
of  the  Bible  have  never  claimed  to  be  guided  by  in- 
spiration. The  gift  of  tongues  has  not  been  con- 
tinued since  the  apostolic  age.  The  church  has 
availed  herself  of  the  learning  of  Christian  scholars  in 
order  that  she  may  guard  the  sacred  oracles  from 
human  corruptions. 

Learning  has  been  of  service  in  defending  the  his- 
torical basis  of  religion.  Are  the  documents  from 
which  we  learn  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  authen- 
tic? Have  we  the  complete  canon  of  the  sacred 
books  ?  Have  we  good  reason  for  receiving  the  Fourth 
Gospel?     Have  we  a  reHable  history  of  God's  revela- 

1  Phil.  i.  16. 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE.         1 49 

tion  in  the  Old  Testament?  What  Hght  is  the  Higher 
Criticism  casting  upon  these  matters?  The  church 
cannot  safely  neglect  these  questions.  If  the  divine 
Spirit,  dwelling  in  the  church,  imparts  spiritual  life 
and  power  to  her,  the  trained  intellect  of  the  church 
has  its  own  important  work  to  do  in  discriminating 
the  true  from  the  false,  and  in  giving  light  to  those 
who  are  perplexed  with  honest  doubt. 

Christian  scholars  have  also  defended  the  truth 
against  the  attacks  of  men  of  science.  There  is  a  close 
relation  between  the  truths  which  the  Bible  teaches 
and  scientific  truths.  The  two  lines  of  truth  must  har- 
monize, because  the  God  of  nature  is  also  the  God  of 
revelation.  Not  that  the  field  of  science  covers  all 
important  truth.  ''  Science  has  to  do,"  says  a  recent 
writer,  *'  with  secondary  causes.  Within  that  sphere 
her  v/isdom  is  sufficient,  but  beyond  that  sphere  she 
does  not  need  to  go."  ^ 

It  is  remarkable  that  man  has  lived  so  long  on  this 
earth  without  learning  more  of  its  secrets.  Turning 
his  attention,  during  this  century,  to  natural  science, 
he  is  surprised  at  the  greatness  of  his  discoveries. 
As  the  scientist  finds  fixed  laws  everywhere  in  nature, 
he  is  inclined  to  infer  that  the  reign  of  law  is  univer- 
sal, and  that  there  is  no  place  for  freedom  and  per- 
sonal responsibility.  But  this  is,  at  best,  only  an 
hypothesis,  and  it  relates  to  matters  that  are  beyond 
the  field  of  natural  science.  For  although  science 
is  able  to  examine  natural  phenomena,  and  tell  us 
**  how  the  wheels  go  round,"  it  has  no  means  of  find- 
ing  out,    by  scientific   investigation,  what  it  is   that 

1  Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke,  in  The  Gospel  for  an  Age  of  Doubt,  p.  247. 


150        RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO    CULTURE. 

makes  the  wheels  move.  It  cannot  tell  what  there 
may  be  behind  the  natural  phenomena  which  it 
studies,  which  corresponds,  as  one  has  said,  **  to 
what  there  is  in  us,  when  we  make  and  use  a  machine, 
or  an  instrument :  when  we  plant  and  cultivate  a  gar- 
den :  or  when  we  select  and  train  a  noble  race  of 
animals.  The  real  question  is,  whether  there  is  a 
final  cause  towards  v/hich  things  work  together,  and 
a  Supreme  Power  which  guides  them  to  that  end."  ^ 
Evolution,  for  example,  is  only  a  process.  It  cannot 
account  for  the  origin  of  things.  The  process  is  not 
the  same  as  the  Creator.  "  The  doctrine  of  Evolu- 
tion," says  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  ''  makes  no  attempt 
whatever  to  explain  the  nature  or  origin  of  life.  It 
is  concerned  not  with  the  origin,  but  with  the  phen- 
omena of  life."^  If  there  is  a  form  of  Evolution 
which  is  atheistic,  there  is  also  a  form  of  theistic 
Evolution,  which  is  as  really  in  accord  with  all  the 
facts  of  science  as  the  other. 

The  church  has  never  declined  to  meet  the  ques- 
tions which  are  raised  by  the  progress  of  science. 
But  she  has  not  trusted  her  enemies  to  interpret  the 
facts  of  science,  because  they  cannot  gain  a  full  and 
well-rounded  view  of  truth  if  they  study  nature  as 
separate  from  God.  Such  investigations  have  often 
failed  to  do  justice  to  the  facts  which  show  that  there 
is  an  intelligent  purpose  of  the  Creator  directing  the 
processes  of  nature.  It  is  no  wonder  that  a  narrow 
view  of  the  science  of  nature  should  lead  to  unbelief. 
It  is  often    needful    to  appeal  to  the  broader  view. 

1  Van  Dyke.     The  Gospel  for  an  Age  of  Doubt,  p.  249. 

2  The  Evolution  of  Christianity,  p.  5. 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO    CULTURE.         151 

The  study  of  language,  and  of  the  laws  of  thought, 
and  of  the  progress  of  civilization,  and  of  the  history 
of  opinions,  is  the  best  antidote  to  agnosticism  and 
materialism.  The  Christian  universities  must  speak 
Greek,  and  teach  Plato,  and  add  a  metaphysical  train- 
ing, to  the  study  of  the  natural  sciences.  The  true 
method  is  not  ''  from  nature  up  to  nature's  God,"  but 
from  God,  the  Author  of  nature,  who  has  revealed 
Himself  in  our  consciences  as  truly  as  in  the  Bible, 
down  to  His  works,  according  to  the  saying  of  Kepler, 
"  I  read  Thy  thoughts  after  Thee,  O  God." 

III. 

In  the  third  place,  religion  has  depended  upon  learn- 
ing and  culture  for  its  development.  The  Kingdom 
of  God  is  as  leaven.  Converts  from  paganism  to 
Christianity  have  still  the  habits  and  modes  of  thought 
of  pagans,  although  there  is  the  beginning  of  a  work 
of  divine  grace  in  their  souls.  Heaven  is  hardly  a 
place  for  barbarians.  The  missionary  must  teach 
them  to  clothe  themselves,  to  erect  comfortable 
dwellings,  to  gain  knowledge,  to  control  their  pas- 
sions, and  refine  their  feeHngs,  and  cultivate  their 
tastes.  For  religion  has  to  do  with  the  whole  man. 
Its  final  result  is  character,  well  rounded  and  com- 
plete, bearing  in  every  part  the  image  of  God.  It  is 
a  narrow  culture  which  develops  man  only  in  his 
relations  to  this  world.  The  culture  which  religion 
favors  develops  him  as  a  spiritual  being.  The  lower 
view  makes  education  simply  the  learning  how  to  get 
on  in  the  world.     But  a  culture  that  is  truly  Christian 


152        RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO    CULTURE. 

has  in  view  not  only  "  the  game  of  hfe,"  but  the  rela- 
tions we  sustain  to  God,  and  to  the  life  beyond  the 
present.  It  aims  to  elevate  the  thoughts,  and  refine 
the  feelings,  and  strengthen  the  faith,  and  to  bring 
one  into  sympathy  with  the  "  First  Perfect,  and  the 
First  Fair."  The  purposes  of  a  religious  culture  will 
be  advanced  by  whatever  is  beautiful,  and  true,  and 
good ;  by  all  knowledge ;  by  music,  and  poetry,  and 
architecture,  and  art.  It  finds  expression  in  a  true 
Christian  civilization.  Religion  seeks  to  direct  the 
forces  of  society  in  the  best  way,  and  to  gather  into 
it  all  those  influences  that  ennoble  the  life  of  man. 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  influences  that  have 
moulded  our  civilization  have  come  from  two  sources, 
Athens  and  Jerusalem.  For  all  that  relates  to  the 
intellect,  to  fine  form  and  expression,  we  are  indebted 
to  the  Greeks.  "  The  first  father,"  says  Principal 
Shairp,  '*  the  Apostle  of  civilization,  was  Homer.  He 
was  enthroned  as  the  king  of  minstrelsy,  and  in- 
vested with  the  office  of  forming  the  young  mind  of 
Greece  to  noble  thoughts  and  bold  deeds.  After 
his  poems  were  gathered  and  reduced  to  writing,  it 
became  the  first  requirement  of  an  educated  gentle- 
man to  be  read  in  Homer.  In  his  train  there  fol- 
lowed Hesiod,  Pindar,  ^schylus,  Sophocles.  On 
poetry  followed  history,  oratory,  and  philosophy.  No 
one  who  looks  back  on  that  marvelous  fertility,  that 
exhaustless  variety  of  the  rarest  gifts  of  thought, 
can  doubt  that  this  richness  was  given  to  Athens  that 
she  might  be  the  intellectual  mother  of  the  world, 
that  her  thoughts  might  be  a  possession  for  all  ages."  ^ 

1  Culture  and  Religion,  pp.  36-40. 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION   TO    CULTURE.         1 53 

And  so  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  thoughts  of  those 
old  Greeks  have  entered  into  the  culture  of  all  the 
nations,  and  that  the  art  of  those  sculptors  has  its 
representatives  in  every  art  gallery. 

But  for  our  rehgious  knowledge  and  culture  we  go 
back  not  to  Athens  but  to  Jerusalem.  We  learn  the 
ways  of  God  to  man  not  from  Homer  or  Thucydides, 
but  from  Moses  and  Daniel  and  Isaiah,  and  from 
Him  who  'spake  as  ''  never  man  spake."  It  is  very 
plain  that  the  churches  that  were  gathered  by  the 
Apostles,  v/ithin  the  Roman  empire,  and  which  rested 
with  firm  faith  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, met,  on  every  side,  the  influences  of  this  old 
culture,  and  drew  up  into  themselves  its  best  ele- 
ments. The  Christian  mind  had  to  eliminate  the  pa- 
gan elements  from  literature  and  art,  and  yet  there 
remained  in  its  possession  all  that  was  finest  in  the 
products  of  genius.  The  best  elements  of  ancient 
thought  assimilated  readily  with  the  truths  which 
Christ  taught.  And  so  the  church,  drawing  her  life 
from  God,  and  resting  upon  His  Word,  was  enriched 
and  beautified  by  the  best  products  of  the  human  in- 
tellect. We  can  trace  this  influence  in  the  early  lit- 
erature of  the  church,  —  such  as  the  homilies  of 
Chrysostom,  and  the  treatises  of  Origen  and  Augus- 
tine. We  trace  it  also  in  the  forms  of  worship,  in 
the  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  in  the  architecture  of 
church  buildings,  and  in  the  increasing  beauty  and 
refinement  of  the  Christian  life. 

It  is  not  possible  to  develop  the  religious  life  in  the 
best  way  without  taking  this  generous  view  of  the 
importance  of  human  culture.     We  need   the  ''  gifts 


154        RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE. 

stored  in  Athens,  and  the  grace  that  radiates  from 
Jerusalem."  Religion  touches  every  human  power, 
and  develops  the  entire  spiritual  nature.  We  are  to 
"  add  to  our  faith  virtue,  and  to  virtue  knowledge."  ^ 
We  ought  to  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  graces,  and  to 
cultivate  the  "  fair  humanities,"  as  well  as  the  religious 
spirit.  The  church  needs  to  put  on  her  "  beautiful 
garments,"  ^  as  well  as  to  put  on  her  strength.  Our 
civilization  is  not  only  a  development  of  the  principles 
of  the  gospel,  but  a  powerful  ally  in  our  missionary 
work.  We  are  to  do  all  things  wisely  and  decently, 
taking  care  not  to  offend  the  tastes  of  cultivated 
men.  We  do  well  to  magnify  the  province  of  Chris- 
tian art,  and  to  make  our  sanctuaries  as  attractive 
as  we  can.  For  the  gospel  is  to  win  its  way  to  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  it  needs  all  the  power  there  is  in 
the  beauty  of  holiness. 

The  church  has  always  appreciated  this  close  re- 
lation between  religion  and  culture.  It  has  always 
been  the  friend  of  learning.  The  largest  number 
of  the  great  schools  and  universities  of  Europe 
and  America  were  founded  by  Christian  men,  and 
they  have  been  consecrated  to  Christ  and  the 
church.  The  highest  art  of  modern  times  is  Chris- 
tian art,  and  the  finest  works  in  literature  —  those 
that  have  had  an  enduring  influence  over  men  — 
have  been  produced  by  those  who  invoked  the 
Christian   muse. 

If  these  things  are  so,  —  if  these  best  and  noblest 
things  that  have  grown   up  among  men,  —  science, 

1  2  Peter  i.  5.  ^  Isaiah  lii.  i. 


RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE.         1 55 

literature,  culture,  and  civilization  are  the  auxiliaries 
of  religion,  it  follows  that  religion  itself  is  above  them 
all,  and  the  mistress  of  them  all.  If  science  and  art 
have  assisted  in  disseminating  Christianity;  if  they 
have  provided  its  strong  ci;  lences  against  its  enemies; 
if  they  have  aided  in  its  fullest  development,  then 
certainly  Christianity  is  worthy  the  attention  of  all 
intelligent  and  reasonable  people. 

There  is  no  good  ground  for  the  opinion  that  reli- 
gion is  unworthy  of  intelligent  minds.  The  Lord  our 
God  is  a  God  of  knowledge.  The  hfe  of  faith  and  of 
devotion  is  the  highest  life.  The  worthiest  use  for 
our  gifts  of  genius  and  culture  is  the  service  of  God. 
All  our  sciences  and  arts,  our  literatures  and  lan- 
guages, and  our  civilizations  are  only  too  small  an 
offering  to  our  Father  in  heaven. 

The  first  place  belongs  to  religion.  We  are  to 
"  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  all  these  things 
will  be  added  unto  us."  For  piety  is  not,  as  some  say, 
a  grace  added  to  character.  It  is  itself  the  root  and 
germ  of  a  good  character.  The  religious  spirit  will 
find  use  for  all  our  acquirements  and  accomplish- 
ments ;  but  the  beginning  is  a  **  life  that  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God."  They  tell  us  that  for  the  best  effect 
of  a  painting  the  light  should  fall  upon  it  from 
above.  So  he  who  has  the  true  light,  —  the  light 
that  Cometh  down  from  God  out  of  Heaven,  is  pre- 
pared to  understand  the  works  of  God  in  nature, 
and  to  range  through  the  fields  of  science,  and  to 
appreciate  at  their  full  value  the  social  and  politi- 
cal institutions  of  men.  For  it  is  true,  as  Milton 
has  taught   us,  that  the  finest  intellectual   products 


156        RELATION   OF   RELIGION  TO   CULTURE. 

are  gained  ''  by  devout  prayer  to  that  eternal  Spirit, 
who  can  enrich  with  all  utterance  and  knowledge, 
and  who  sends  out  His  seraphim  with  the  hallowed 
fire  of  His  altar,  to  touch  and  purify  the  lips  of 
whom   He  pleases."  ^ 

1  Milton's  Prose  Works,  Bohn's  Edition,  vol.  ii.  p.  481. 


X. 

THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 


X. 

THE   GOSPEL  OF   REST. 

A?id  He  left  them,   and  went  forth   out  of  the  city  to 

Betha?iy,  and  lodged  there. 

St.  Matthew  xxi.  17. 

Our  Saviour  had  His  Bethany,  —  His  place  of  rest 
and  refreshment.  No  other  of  the  places  to  which 
He  went  has  the  same  pleasant  associations.  Beth- 
lehem, Nazareth,  Capernaum,  Jerusalem,  each  of  these 
is  inseparably  linked  with  some  part  of  His  life.  In 
three  of  them  He  had,  for  a  time,  a  home.  But  I 
think  we  are  able  to  get  a  clearer  view  of  Jesus  as  a 
Friend,  in  the  circle  of  His  friends,  to  see,  what  I  may 
almost  call  the  domestic  side  of  the  Son  of  man,  in 
Bethany  than  in  any  other  place. 

The  town  is  not  once  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, or  in  the  books  of  the  Apocrypha.  It  was  a 
small  village,  less  than  two  miles  from  Jerusalem, 
near  Bethphage,  with  which  it  is  often  mentioned.  It 
lay  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Mount  Olivet,  near  the 
road  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho.  From  Bethany 
there  was  an  unobstructed  view  of  the  steep  descent 
to  the  river  Jordan,  and  beyond  the  river  were  the 
mountains  of  Perea.^     It  was  in  that  region  that  Jesus 

1  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary.     Art.  Bethany. 


l60  THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 

was  abiding  when  the  sisters  sent  their  messengers  to 
tell  Him  that  their  brother  Lazarus  was  sick.^  For 
three  days  they  watched  for  His  coming  up  that  steep 
ascent.  When,  at  last,  He  came,  Martha  and  Mary 
met  Him  on  that  same  road. 

We  are  not  told  how  Jesus  came  to  be  known  to 
the  family  at  Bethany.  Indeed,  the  four  Gospels  give 
but  an  outline  of  His  life,  and  they  leave  many  gaps. 
If  we  had  a  circumstantial  account,  like  Boswell's 
Johnson,  or  a  modern  autobiography,  we  should  be 
able  to  trace  various  lines  of  influence,  and  to  under- 
stand some  references  that  are  now  very  perplexing. 

The  earliest  reference  to  our  Lord  at  Bethany 
occurs  in  connection  with  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles, 
six  months  before  the  end  of  His  life.^  St.  Luke  tells 
us  that  "  He  entered  into  a  certain  village,  and  a  cer- 
tain woman  named  Martha  received  Him  into  her 
house.  And  she  had  a  sister  called  Mary,  which 
also  sat  at  the  Lord's  feet,  and  heard  His  word.  But 
Martha  was  cumbered  about  much  serving ;  and  she 
came  up  to  Him,  and  said,  Lord,  dost  thou  not  care 
that  my  sister  did  leave  me  to  serve  alone?  Bid  her, 
therefore,  that  she  help  me."  This  family  scene,  and 
especially  the  reproof  that  Jesus  gave  to  Martha, 
implies  previous  acquaintance.  But  when  it  began, 
or  how,  we  are  not  told. 

The  next  reference  to  Bethany  is  some  two  or  three 
months  later.^  Jesus  had  gone  away  "  beyond  the  Jor- 
dan unto  the  place  where  John  was  at  first  baptizing." 
Lazarus  was  sick,  and  the  sisters  sent  a  messenger  to 

1  Stanley.     Sinai  and  Palestine,  pp.  186-7. 

2  St.  Luice  X.  38-42.  3  St.  John  xi.  3. 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST.  l6l 

say :  **  Lord,  behold  he  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick." 
We  read  directly :  "  Now  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her 
sister,  and  Lazarus."  Jesus  went  and  called  Lazarus 
from  the  tomb,  and  then  returned  to  '*  the  city  called 
Ephraim,  and  there  He  tarried  with  the  disciples."  ^ 

The  next  visit  was  six  days  before  the  Passover.^ 
Jesus  came  with  a  clear  knowledge  that  His  hour  had 
come,  and  He  selected  the  home  in  Bethany  as  the 
place  where  he  would  spend  the  last  days.  He  must 
have  come  this  time  also,  up  the  steep  road  from  the 
Jordan,  and  from  Jericho.  It  was  the  seventh  day  of 
the  week  when  He  came.  And  ''  they  made  Him  a 
supper,  and  Martha  served,  but  Lazarus  was  one  of 
them  that  sat  at  the  table  with  Him."  ^  Mary  an- 
ointed His  head^  and  His  feet,^  with  the  precious 
ointment,  and  wiped  His  feet  with  her  hair.  The  act 
soothed  Him.  He  accepted  it  as  a  tribute  of  grati- 
tude, and  an  act  of  faith.  "She  hath  come,"  He  said, 
"  to  anoint  my  body  for  the  burying."  ''  Wheresoever 
this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world,  there 
shall  also  this,  which  this  woman  (of  Bethany)  hath 
done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her."  The  next  day, 
which  was  the  first  day  of  the  week  (if  we  follow  the 
order  of  St.  John),^  He  made  His  triumphal  entry  — 
shall  we  not  say  His  royal  entry  —  *'  into  Jerusalem, 
and  into  the  temple :  and  when  He  had  looked  round 
about  upon  all  things,  and  now  the  eventide  was 
come,  He  went  out  unto  Bethany  with  the  twelve."  ^ 

1  St.  John  xi.  54.  *  St.  Matt.  xxvi.  7. 

2  St.  John  xii.  i.  ^  St.  John  xii.  3. 

3  St.  John  xii.  1-16.  ^  St.  John  xii.  12. 

7  St.  Markxi.  11. 


l62  THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 

After  the  next  day,  which  was  crowded  with  action 
and  with  teaching,^  we  read  that  "when  even  was 
come  He  went  out  of  the  city,"^  perhaps  to  the  garden, 
but  more  probably  this  time,  also,  to  Bethany. 

The  gospels  also  indicate  that  it  was  from  Bethany  ^ 
that  He  sent  His  disciples  into  the  city  to  make  ready 
the  Passover,  and  as  the  day  began  to  wear  away,  He 
left  His  refuge  and  retreat,  the  last  He  was  to  find  on 
earth,  and  went  again  to  Jerusalem  to  eat  the  Pass- 
over with  His  disciples,  and  then  to  be  betrayed,  and 
condemned,  and  crucified. 


Thus  we  see  that  there  was  a  place  for  Bethany  in 
the  life  of  the  Son  of  man.  He  had  a  mission  to 
fulfil.  In  His  very  childhood  He  felt  that  He  must 
be  about  His  Father's  business.  His  years  of  public 
service  were  very  few.  He  died  while  He  was  yet 
comparatively  young.  His  few  years  were  crowded 
with  labor.  It  was  a  very  busy,  earnest  life,  full  of 
exhausting  services.  Each  place  where  He  dwelt 
was  the  scene  of  His  labors.  Many  of  His  mighty 
works  were  done  in  Capernaum  and  the  cities  that 
were  near  it.  Whenever  He  went  to  Jerusalem  He 
wrought  great  miracles,  and  taught  the  people  from 
day  to  day.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  His 
ministry  His  life  was  intense  and  crowded. 

And  yet  there  were  times  when  He  said  to  His 
disciples :  **  Let  us  go  aside  into  a  desert  place  and 

1  St.  Luke  xxi.  37.  2  st.  Mark  xi.  19. 

3  St.  Matt.  xxvi.  2-6,  St.  Mark  xiv.  1-3,  12. 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST.  163 

rest  awhile."  ^  At  other  times,  when  He  was  ex- 
hausted with  labor,  He  would  leave  them,  and  go 
away  "  into  a  mountain  Himself  alone!'  ^  Sometimes 
He  constrained  them  to  get  into  a  ship,  and  push  out 
upon  the  sea,  that  He  might  be  fanned  by  the  cool 
breezes  of  the  lake ;  and  then  He  would  sink  into  the 
deep  sleep  that  follows  exhaustion,  after  the  fevered 
brow  has  begun  to  cool,  and  the  anxious  thoughts  to 
give  place  to  tranquil  meditations. 

These  things  show  us  very  plainly  that  our  Lord 
Jesus  was  a  true  Son  of  man.  He  was  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities.  He  bore  our  griefs 
and  carried  our  sorrows.  His  work  told  upon  a  sen- 
sitive, human  organization.  He  was  often  weary,  and 
hungry,  and  when  He  lay  down  at  night  His  rest  was 
sweet,  as  it  is  to  any  tired  man.  This  was  a  part  of 
what  He  took  upon  Himself  In  taking  our  nature. 
It  brings  Him  into  relations  of  sympathy  with  us,  for 
"  He  knoweth  our  frame ;  He  remembereth  that  we 
are  dust."  ^ 

H. 

But  these  things  in  the  life  of  Jesus  teach  us  more 
than  that.  He  is  our  only  perfect  example.  If  there 
was  a  place  for  Bethany  in  His  earthly  life,  there 
should  be  a  Bethany  in  our  lives.  His  example 
teaches  us  T/ie  Gospel  of  Rest. 

There  are  two  views  of  life  which  one  meets  among 
good  people.  One  of  them  has  room  for  Bethany : 
the  other  has  not. 

For  there  are  those  who  make  a  virtue  of  constant 
work.  They  are  always  under  pressure.  The  chief 
1  St.  Mark  vi.  31.  2  st.  John  vi.  15.         a  Ps.  ciii.  14. 


l64  THE   GOSPEL  OF   REST. 

end  of  life  is  to  do  things.  If  they  rest  it  is  only  to 
gain  strength  to  work.  They  take  it  for  granted  that 
toil  and  care  are  the  only  things  for  which  we  live. 
It  is  with  this  view  of  life  that  people  so  often  say 
that  they  do  not  wish  to  live  after  their  usefulness  is 
past.  They  wonder  that  God  so  often  detains  the 
aged  on  this  earth  after  their  days  of  activity  have 
gone  by. 

One  with  this  view  of  life  will  be  likely  to  make  all 
things  bend  to  it.  Youth  is  but  a  preparation  for 
service.  Education  will  be  intensely  practical.  Those 
studies  which  do  not  help  our  practical  work  will  be 
passed  by.  The  education  which  develops  the  sen- 
sibilities, cultivates  the  imagination,  and  refines  the 
taste,  and  improves  the  moral  and  religious  nature 
will  be  discarded. 

Periods  of  rest  are  thought  of  as  lost  time.  Men 
are  estimated  according  to  their  ability  for  productive 
labor.  Life  comes  to  be  regarded  as  a  period  of  toil, 
and  man  as  a  creature  of  superior  sagacity  and  capac- 
ity for  labor.  If  they  are  religious  people  they  have 
no  appreciation  of  a  contemplative  Christianity. 
Their  tabernacle  must  be  always  moving.  They 
seem  to  fear  lest  the  rest  of  Heaven  should  come  too 
soon  to  those  who  ''  labor  and  are  heavy  laden." 


III. 

It  is  plain  that  this  is  a  narrow  view  of  the  purpose 
of  life  in  the  world.  It  is  a  view  which  destroys 
itself,  for  he  who  lives  only  to  work  cannot  be  a  good 
worker.     The  best  work,  and  the  largest  amount  of 


THE  GOSPEL   OF   REST.  165 

work,  is  done  by  those  whose  plan  of  life  is  larger 
and  more  generous. 

In  the  first  place  God  has  given  us  a  great  variety  of 
powers.  Some  are  for  work,  and  some  are  for  play ; 
some  for  song,  and  some  for  worship.  We  have  our 
hands  and  our  busy  minds.  But  we  have  also  our 
tastes,  our  sensibilities,  —  the  imagination  that 

..."  bodies  forth 
The  forms  of  things  unknown, 
.  .  .  and  gives  to  airy  nothing 
A  local  habitation  and  a  name."  ^ 

We  have  the  religious  nature,  which  connects  us  with 
the  spiritual  and  the  eternal.  Each  lower  power  is 
designed  to  minister  to  those  that  are  above  it.  If  the 
lower  power  should  be  developed,  much  more  should 
those  that  are  higher.  Every  power  which  God  has 
given  us  is  worthy  of  the  fullest  development. 

In  the  second  place,  the  plan  of  life  which  God 
has  marked  out  in  nature  and  in  the  Bible,  is  not 
merely  a  plan  for  work.  It  is  God  who  causes  the 
night  to  follow  the  day,  so  that  our  time  of  labor  must 
be  Hmited  to  a  part  of  the  hours.  If  "  He  giveth  His 
beloved  sleep,"  their  thoughts  go  forth  in  dreams, 
and  they  wander  amid  scenes  fairer  and  more  restful 
than  their  waking  hours  ever  bring  them.  If  sleep 
eludes  them  their  meditation  of  God  is  sweet,  and 
often  *'  He  giveth  them  songs  in  the  night."  If  the 
commandment  is :  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and 
do  all  thy  work,"  it  is  also,  *'  Remember  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  keep  it  holy."  We  are  required  to  rest, 
because  *'  God  rested  from  all  His  work  which  He 
1  A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream.  Act  v.  Scene  i. 


l66  THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 

created  and  made."  He  made  it  plain  that  the  object 
of  the  Sabbath  is  not  merely  that  men  may  do  more 
work.  God  connected  great  ideas  with  the  Sabbath. 
We  are  not  to  rest  as  the  brutes  rest.  God  has  ap- 
pointed special  religious  services  for  the  day,  and  has 
made  it  a  suggestion  to  us  of  the  rest  of  Heaven.  He 
has  made  it,  so  to  speak,  a  sort  of  Bethany  day,  —  a 
day  of  relief  and  refreshment,  of  friendship  and  love, 
a  day  when  we  may  get  out  from  the  current  of  toil 
and  come  into  communion  with  spiritual  beings.  The 
highest  forms  of  civilization,  the  finest  development 
of  personal  character,  the  sweetest  and  most  per- 
fect home  life,  are  found  where  the  Lord's  day  is 
observed  as  a  day  of  rest  and  of  worship. 

Observe,  also,  how  often  the  working  days  of  the 
people  of  Israel  were  interrupted  by  the  great  reli- 
gious festivals,  three  in  every  year,  two  of  seven  days 
each,  when  all  the  men  were  required  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem.  These  were  not  so  frequent  as  to  cherish 
an  indolent  habit  among  the  people,  but  they  were 
fitted  to  enlarge  the  acquaintance  of  the  people  with 
their  own  country,  and  to  broaden  and  liberalize  their 
views.  It  may  be  that  the  influence  which  the  Jews 
have  exerted  is  due  in  part  to  this  training. 

But  God  teaches  us  by  His  Providence  as  truly  as 
by  His  Word.  How  often  the  course  of  active  life  is 
interrupted  by  sickness.  How  many  spend  months 
and  years,  when,  as  they  say,  they  are  quite  useless. 
And  yet  to  how  many  these  lost  days  are  the  turning 
points  in  life.  A  large  proportion  of  those  who  are 
now  living  belong  to  the  class  of  disabled  people. 
They  are    permanent   invalids;    they  are   unable  to 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST.  167 

walk ;  they  are  shut  in  from  the  world  ;  they  are  the 
Lord's  hidden  ones.  They  are  bhnd  as  Alilton  was ; 
they  are  spending  the  quiet  evening  of  life  in  rest 
and  contemplation.  "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He 
chasteneth."  But  those  who  think  that  the  chief  pur- 
pose of  life  is  activity,  cannot  understand  why  God 
deals  in  this  way  with  so  large  a  number. 

IV. 

We  may  learn  the  true  plan  of  life  by  looking  again 
and  more  comprcJiciisively  at  the  life  of  Christ. 

In  one  of  His  discourses,  the  Saviour  draws  a  con- 
trast bet\veen  himself  and  John  the  Baptist.  John 
was  the  t>'pe  of  a  narrow,  severe  man,  of  pure  life 
and  earnest  spirit.  He  shunned  the  genial  influences 
of  social  life.  He  dwelt  in  the  wilderness.  His  rai- 
ment was  of  camel's  hair,  and  his  food  was  locusts 
and  wild  honey.  He  preached  the  law  rather  than 
the  gospel.  He  preached,  saying,  "Repent,"  but  he 
had  no  offer  to  make  of  divine  help  and  grace.  His 
religion  was  one  of  self-denial,  and  self-subjection.  It 
was  of  the  Old  Testament,  not  of  the  New ;  good  so 
far  as  it  went,  but  lacking  the  sweet  charity  of  the 
gospel,  and  the  freeness  of  a  true  spiritual  life.  He 
had  no  place  for  Bethany.  The  severe,  ascetic  forms 
of  Christianity  are  the  reflection  of  his  spirit.  Her- 
mits and  monks  have  followed  him  into  the  deserts, 
and  have  thought  to  overcome  sin  by  voluntary  pen- 
ances and  flagellations. 

Was  Jesus  such  a  man  as  John  ?  Some  would 
have   us  believe   that  He  was,  and   that  our  religion 


l68  THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 

ought  to  be  like  his.  But  what  does  our  Lord  say? 
"  John  came  neither  eating  bread  nor  drinking  wine, 
and  ye  say,  he  hath  a  deviL  The  Son  of  man  is 
come  eating  and  drinking,  and  ye  say,  Behold,  a  man 
gluttonous,  and  a  wine  bibber,  a  friend  of  pubHcans 
and  sinners."  ^ 

Jesus  was  not  a  gluttonous  man,  nor  a  wine  bibber, 
but  from  this  contrast,  which  he  has  taught  us  to  draw, 
we  can  understand  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  He 
lived  a  simple,  natural,  human  life.  He  was  a  genial, 
gracious  man.  He  did  not  despise  the  good  or  the 
beautiful  things  of  life.  He  was  not  unwilling  to  be 
present  at  the  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  and  when 
the  wine  was  exhausted  He  provided  an  ample  store 
for  their  innocent  festivities  by  miraculous  power.  His 
preaching  was  not  in  the  deserts,  but  in  the  cities  and 
villages,  and  the  homes  of  the  people.  He  gladly 
accepted  the  invitations  of  those  who  desired  him  to 
come  to  their  feasts,  and  He  compared  the  Kingdom 
of  God  to  a  Great  Supper  with  a  free  invitation. 
Yet  He  had  earnest  work  to  do.  Few  have  toiled  so 
severely.  No  one  has  ever  tried  so  hard  to  do  good, 
and  to  save  the  lost.  No  life  has  ever  been  so  fully 
under  the  power  of  love. 

Jesus  began  to  preach  when  He  was  about  thirty 
years  old,  and  He  died  when  He  was  thirty-three. 
Of  what  use  were  all  the  years  before?  Thirty 
wasted  years,  were  they?  Wasted  years?  He  was 
growing.  He  was  thinking.  He  was  communing 
with  the  Father,  and  assuredly,  there  was  no  waste  in 
that.     But,  if  He  had  come  to  do  the  greatest  pos- 

1  St.  Luke  vii.  33-34. 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST.  169 

sible  number  of  things,  He  might  have  begun  earlier, 
and  stayed  away  from  Bethany.  But  if  He  desired 
to  show  us  how  large  and  generous  the  plan  of  life 
should  be,  —  how  careful  the  preparation,  —  if  He 
would  teach  us  that  a  man  is  more  and  greater  than 
his  business ;  that  he  should  always  master  his  busi- 
ness, and  never  permit  it  to  make  him  its  slave ;  then 
it  was  wise  for  the  Son  of  man  to  wait,  in  His  home 
in  Nazareth,  with  Mary  His  mother,  until  His  powers 
were  mature,  though  it  took  thirty  silent  years.  And 
then,  when  He  did  go  forth,  it  was  well  to  go  as 
a  gentle,  sympathetic,  earnest  man,  who  loved  the 
flowers,  and  the  children,  and  the  homes  of  the 
lowly,  —  to  enter  as  well  into  the  joys,  as  the  sor- 
rows of  men.  It  is  well  that  Jesus  has  given  us  an 
example  of  earnest  work,  — work  from  which  no  cir- 
cumstance of  hardship  was  absent,  work  that  was 
never  abandoned  on  account  of  difficulty,  or  peril; 
and  yet,  that  all  through  this  blessed  Hfe  of  His  there 
were  days  of  rest,  and  refreshment;  that  He  some- 
times went  apart  to  meditate  and  pray;  that  He 
went,  as  His  custom  was,  to  the  synagogue  on  the 
Sabbath  day;  that  He  went  to  the  house  of  Martha 
and  Mary,  when  He  was  on  His  way  to  Gethsemane, 
and  to  Calvary. 

Again,  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  work  of 
Jesus  was  work  for  the  higher  nature  of  man.  He 
did  not  labor  for  the  meat  that  perisheth,  or  to  make 
useful  inventions,  or  to  reform  society  or  government, 
or  to  increase  the  wealth  of  the  world.  He  regarded 
man  as  a  spiritual  being,  and  taught  that  "  a  man's 
Hfe  consisteth   not  in  the  abundance   of  the  things 


I^O  THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 

that  he  possesseth."  He  pointed  to  a  Hfe  of  charity, 
and  the  highest  goodness,  as  the  best  Hfe.  He  taught 
us,  by  all  His  manner  of  life,  that  human  beings  are 
the  really  important  parts  of  God's  creation ;  and  that 
every  power  God  has  given  should  be  developed ;  and 
that  whether  we  work  or  rest,  whether  in  action  or 
contemplation,  we  should  seek  to  live  as  the  children 
of  the  Father  in  Heaven,  and  should  seek  to  become 
pure  as  He  is  pure,  and  holy  as  He  is  holy. 

I  have  opened  this  line  of  thought  because  I  think 
we  have  special  need  of  these  truths.  A  distin- 
guished Englishman,  who  visited  this  country  a  few 
years  ago,  has  published  a  very  severe  and  somewhat 
exaggerated  criticism  upon  the  civilization  which  he 
found  in  the  United  States.  He  admits  that  our 
faults  are  due  in  part  to  the  newness  of  our  country, 
and  the  pressure  of  the  great  work  of  settling  a  new 
world.  But  he  says  that  our  view  of  life  and  its  in- 
terests is  too  narrow,  and  too  low;  that  we  neglect 
the  higher  sentiments  of  reverence ;  that  we  lack  an 
appreciation  of  pure  beauty,  and  truth,  and  right- 
eousness :  and  that  we  subordinate  all  things  to  a  nar- 
row view  of  practical  utility ;  that  the  dollar  is,  with 
too  many  of  us,  the  great  object  of  Hfe.  Some  of  the 
things  he  says  of  us  may  be  true.  There  is  no  human 
society  that  has  yet  approached  the  ideal  which  our 
Redeemer  set  before  us  in  His  life  and  His  wonderful 
words.  His  Hfe  is  broader  and  richer  in  suggestions 
than  many  suppose.  If  it  ended  at  Calvary,  He  was 
preparing  for  Calvary  at  Nazareth  and  at  Bethany. 

This  world  is  not  merely  a  workshop.     It  is  not  the 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST.  171 

whole  purpose  of  life  to  '*  get  on  in  the  world."  The 
curse  of  labor  rests  upon  our  race,  but  it  is  lightened 
by  Redemption.  The  notion  that  the  time  is  lost 
when  we  are  not  at  work  is  wrong.  Man  is  more 
than  his  work.  If  he  permits  himself  to  be  mastered 
and  driven  by  it,  he  is  no  better  than  a  slave.  Rest 
is  a  duty,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  gaining  fresh 
strength  for  labor,  but  for  the  sake  of  getting  time  to 
think,  and  pray,  and  commune  with  God.  If  one 
side  of  our  nature  requires  action,  another  side  re- 
quires contemplation.  They  serve  the  Lord  *'  who 
only  stand  and  wait."  Every  faculty  of  the  soul  is 
worth  developing.  The  beautiful  is  as  truly  from 
God  as  the  useful. 

If  we  live  as  we  should,  life  will  grow  richer  as  we 
grow  older.  The  man  of  established  principles,  with 
the  wisdom  that  comes  from  a  long  experience,  will 
find  that  his  horizon  is  widening  with  every  year  of 
advancing  life.  His  thoughts  ought  to  be  clearer, 
his  tastes  purer,  his  creed  more  catholic,  as  he 
mounts  towards  the  land  of  Beulah  and  the  Celestial 
City.  He  should  drop  the  prejudices,  the  resent- 
ments, the  narrowness  of  earlier  years,  and  should 
enter  more  fully  into  the  hfe  of  charity. 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  has  a  home,  and  who  has 
made  it  a  dwelling  place  of  pure  affections.  Let  him 
make  it  attractive.  Let  it  be  as  comfortable  and  as 
beautiful  as  his  means  will  permit.  Let  books  and 
pictures  be  among  its  treasures.  Let  some  hour  in 
the  day  be  sacred  to  a  real  family  life. 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  has  a  Sabbath  in  his  home. 
It  is  a  little  of  Heaven  for  us  here.     It  is  a  day  for 


1/2  THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST. 

gentleness  and  love,  for  pure  and  gracious  words,  for 
high  thoughts,  for  prayer  and  worship,  for  drawing 
nearer  to  each  other  and  to  God. 

Blessed  are  those  who  know  where  to  find  their 
Bethany,  and  when  to  visit  it.  It  is  some  place, 
not  too  far  away,  and  not  too  near,  where  it  will  be 
possible  sometimes  to  go:  perhaps  the  old  family 
home,  where  father  and  mother  yet  live,  or  where 
they  used  to  hve ;  perhaps  some  other  home,  where 
Lazarus  who  loves  us  dwells,  or  Mary  and  Martha. 
Possibly  it  lies  beyond  the  sea.  There  will  be  times 
to  go,  perhaps  long  expected  and  planned  for,  or 
times  coming  unexpectedly,  when  rest  is  necessary, 
when  Lazarus  is  sick ;  or  times  when  the  cross  is  very 
near  and  very  heavy.  Go  to  rest.  Go  to  freshen 
your  feelings,  and  deepen  your  experiences.  Go  to 
comfort  Mary  and  Martha.  Go  to  be  comforted. 
But  go,  not  too  often,  and  yet  sometimes. 

But  above  all  are  those  blessed  who  have  learned 
the  true  philosophy  of  life,  and  who  have  strength  and 
grace  to  follow  it ;  who  know  how  to  do  faithfully  the 
work  of  life,  without  coming  into  bondage  to  work ; 
who  are  liberal,  and  yet  earnest  and  true;  who  are 
orthodox,  but  not  narrow;  temperate,  but  not  cen- 
sorious; who  can  use  good  things  without  abusing 
them ;  who  are  generous,  but  not  prodigal ;  cheerful 
cnoiLgh  to  go  to  Bethany^  and  brave  enough  to  go  to 
Calvary. 

The  things  that  perplex  us  here  will  be  made  plain 
in  Heaven.  But  the  joy  of  Heaven  comes  from  the 
sorrows  of  earth,  and  its  crowns  from  the  crosses  we 
are  bearing.     Heaven  is  not  Bethany,  any  more  than 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   REST.  1 73 

it  is  Capernaum ;  but  the  cares  and  duties  of  Caper- 
naum, and  the  rests  of  Bethany,  are  working  to  fit  us 
for  the  higher  service,  and  the  everlasting  rest  of  the 
kingdom  of  God's  love. 

Are  they  so  working,  friends?  Are  you  getting 
from  life  its  real  discipline :  living  in  such  a  way  that 
all  your  experiences  shall  serve  to  build  up  characters 
that  are  true  and  strong.  Childhood  and  youth, 
school  life  and  business  life,  work  and  play,  Bethany 
and  Capernaum  should  do  something  towards  it. 
The  real  issues  of  life  will  depend  not  so  much  upon 
what  we  do,  or  what  we  possess,  as  upon  what  we 
become ;  and  by  God's  grace  we  can  be  prepared  to 
enter  into  the  ''  rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of 
God." 


XI. 

GROWTH   OF  THE   KINGDOM   BY   LITTLE 
AND   LITTLE. 


XL 

GROWTH    OF   THE    KINGDOM   BY   LITTLE 
AND    LITTLE. 

By  little  and  little  I  will  drive  them  out  from  before  thee. 

Exodus  xxiii.  30. 

A  FEW  words  will  explain  the  text.  The  children 
of  Israel  were  encamped  at  Mount  Sinai,  on  their 
way  from  Egypt  to  the  land  of  promise.  God  had 
appeared  upon  the  holy  mount,  and  had  spoken  to 
the  people  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  of  the  cloud, 
and  of  the  thick  darkness,  with  a  great  voice.  A 
little  later  He  had  given  to  Moses  other  laws  for  His 
people.  In  this  twenty-third  chapter  He  is  speaking 
of  the  land  to  which  they  were  going,  and  of  the  way 
in  which  He  was  leading  them.  *'  Behold  I  send  an 
angel  before  thee,  to  keep  thee  by  the  way,  and  to 
bring  thee  into  the  place  which  I  have  prepared."^ 
This  beautiful  figure  of  the  angel  of  God  leading  the 
pilgrim  host  towards  Canaan,  often  comes  out  in 
their  literature.  *'  Mine  angel  shall  go  before  thee, 
and  bring  thee  in  unto  the  Amorite,  and  the  Hittite, 
and  the  Perizzite,  and  the  Canaanite,  the  Hivite,  and 
the  Jebusite,  and  I  will  cut  them  off."  ^ 

How  natural  it  is  for  us  to  take  it  for  granted  that, 
if  God  were  to  cast  out  those  wicked  tribes,  He  would 

1  Exodus  xxiii.  20.  2  Exodus  xxiii.  23. 

12 


178      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 

do  it  at  once.  For  assuredly  He  has  power  to  do  it. 
But  God  never  does  all  that  He  has  power  to  do.  It 
would  not  be  best  for  His  people  to  be  shielded  from 
all  temptations,  and  excused  from  the  conflicts  of  life. 
"  I  pray  not,"  said  our  Saviour,  in  His  intercessory 
prayer,  "  that  thou  shouldest  take  them  from  the 
world,  but  that  thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the 
evil  one."  ^  And  so  God  said  to  Israel,  "  by  little 
and  little  I  will  drive  them  out  from  before  thee,  until 
thou  be  increased,  and  inherit  the  land." 

This  was  God's  method  with  Israel.  In  the  book 
of  Joshua  we  read  of  the  successful  war  with  the 
nations  of  Canaan.  They  combined  against  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  and  gathered  two  great  armies,  which 
were  provided  with  the  most  efficient  weapons  of  war 
that  were  known  in  that  age,  and  with  horses  ''  and 
chariots  of  iron."  '^  The  war  had  its  culmination  in 
two  great  battles,  like  our  Chancellorsville  and  Get- 
tysburg. As  the  result  of  the  war  the  power  of  the 
Canaanites  was  broken,  and  the  Israelites  entered  in 
and  possessed  the  land,  with  its  cities  and  its  strong- 
holds. But,  after  all,  the  Canaanites  dwelt  among 
them.  They  were  subdued,  but  not  destroyed.  All 
through  the  book  of  Judges  we  read  of  these  idola- 
trous people.  Sometimes  they  gathered  strength,  so 
as  to  bring  God's  people  under  their  power.  And 
then,  when  Israel  repented,  and  returned  to  the  Lord, 
they  were  able  to  throw  off  the  yoke.  It  was  four  hun- 
dred years  before  the  children  of  Israel,  in  the  time 
of  David,  had  full  possession  of  the  land  of  promise. 
'*  By  little  and  little  "  their  enemies  were  cast  out. 
1  St.  John  xvii.  15.  ^  Joshua  xvii.  16. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.       1 79 


We  have  a  principle  of  God's  method  of  working ,  in 
this  text,  which  I  wish  to  ilkistrate.  The  Bible 
teaches  that  God  is  the  First  Cause  of  all  things, 
"  In  the  beginning  God."  ^  He  created  the  world. 
He  created  the  stars.  He  created  man.  He  holds 
all  things  in  being.  He  doeth  His  pleasure,  and 
none  can  stay  His  hand.  And  yet  this  Infinite  and 
Almighty  Being  limits  Himself,  so  that  He  does  His 
work  *'  hy  little  and  little."  Not  in  erne  day  did  God 
make  the  World,  accoraing  to  the  Bible,  but  in  six 
days,  and  the  work  of  each  day  was  very  good.  Our 
science  is  showing  that  the  world  was  prepared  for 
the  use  of  men  in  the  long  geologic  periods,  when 
changes  came  very  slowly,  and  each  change  set  for- 
ward the  great  process  but  a  little.  A  thousand 
years  is  with  the  Lord  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a 
thousand  years.  There  have  been,  it  is  true,  great 
crises  in  the  world's  history,  when  changes  hav^e  come 
suddenly,  as  at  the  time  of  the  Flood.  But,  for  the  most 
part,  the  changes  have  come  slowly.  The  earth  was 
slowly  cooled.  The  continents  were  slowly  elevated 
above  the  sea.  The  mountains  are  slowly  wearing 
away,  by  frosts,  and  snows,  and  mountain  streams. 
The  great  Ice-Age  was  slowly  broken  up.  Every 
summer  shower  does  something  towards  wearing  away 
the  hills,  and  filling  the  valleys.  By  little  and  little 
these  changes  are  going  forward ;  but  how  much 
they  amount  to  in  a  thousand  years. 
1  Gen.  i.  i. 


l8o      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 


II. 

How  quiet  and  slow  the  great  changes  that  are 
going  forward  within  our  own  observation.  Who  has 
not  admired  the  changes  that  coine  at  day-break,  —  the 
early  gleam  in  the  east,  the  gray  light  in  which  the 
morning  stars  begin  to  fade,  the  kindHng  that  pre- 
cedes the  sunrise,  the  shining  light  that  gilds  the 
mountain  tops,  —  so  silent  and  slow  that  no  one  can 
tell  when  the  night  passes  into  the  morning,  and  yet, 
how  glorious  the  morning  that  ushers  in  the  day. 

Is  there  anything  in  nature  more  wonderful  than 
the  cha7ige  from  the  depth  of  a  whiter  in  these  nortJiern 
latitudes  to  the  golden  smnmcr  ?  But  how  slowly  the 
seasons  change.  The  themometer  marks  zero,  and 
there  is  ice  and  snow  and  desolation  all  about  us. 
The  mercury  rises  a  few  degrees,  and  the  snow-drifts 
are  settling,  and  the  ice  is  softening.  It  rises  a  few 
degrees  higher,  and  the  drifts  are  gone ;  we  see  the 
hard  and  frozen  ground ;  a  few  degrees  more,  and 
the  streams  are  set  free  from  their  icy  chains,  the 
showers  begin  to  fall,  the  buds  to  swell,  the  flowers 
to  open,  the  first  birds  are  here,  and  there  is  green- 
ness and  fragrance  all  about  us.  A  little  more,  and 
the  trees  are  putting  on  their  coronal  of  leaves,  the 
fruit  blossoms  appear ;  there  is  once  more  an  abund- 
ance of  insect  hfe  about  us.  The  summer  has  come 
with  its  beauty  and  its  power.  The  change  has  run 
through  weeks,  and  even  months,  but  every  day  the 
summer  is  a  few  miles  nearer;  and  so  it  comes, 
surely,  though  with  lingering  steps. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  .\ND  LITTLE.       l8l 

We  have  in  the  world,  it  may  be,  fifteen  hundred 
milhons  of  human  beings.  I  suppose  there  is  never, 
at  one  time,  food  enough  to  supply  these  millions  for 
more  than  a  twelve-month.  If  the  earth  were  to  cease 
to  provide  food  so  long  as  a  whole  year  there  would 
be  famine  everywhere.  How  does  God  feed  the 
world  ?  Not  by  laying  up  food  in  His  storehouses. 
But  there  is  "  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the 
full  corn  in  the  ear."  ^  In  this  field  wheat  is  growing, 
in  that,  it  is  corn,  further  on  it  is  barley,  —  in  every 
field  something  is  growing,  in  every  land  over  the  round 
world.  These  little  grains,  —  so  small  that  a  little 
bird  can  pick  them  up,  —  these  Httle  grains  furnish 
bread  for  a  hungry  world,  and  they  have  been  doing 
it  ever  since  God  made  man,  and  gave  all  these  pro- 
ducts of  the  fruitful  earth  to  nourish  his  Hfe.  God 
fed  His  people  in  the  wilderness  with  manna,  a  small 
round  thing  like  coriander  seed,  just  as  He  has  been 
feeding  the  children  of  men  for  so  many  generations, 
with  these  little  grains  that  grow  every  summer  out 
of  the  ground. 

III. 

This  is  God's  law  in  the  natural  world.  Let  us  see 
how  the  same  law  shows  itself  in  the  spiritual  world. 
It  is  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  the  still 
small  voice  of  the  Spirit.^ 

Take  as  a  4est  illustration,  the  life  of  our  Saviour 
while  He  dwelt  among  men.  He  was  tempted  by  the 
Devil,  when  he  was  beginning  His  ministry,  to  do  strik- 
ing and  sensational  things,  —  to  fling  Himself  from  the 
1  St.  Markiv.  28.  '^  i  Kings  xix.  11-12. 


1 82      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 

pinnacle  of  the  temple,  that  the  splendid  angels  might 
bear  Him  up,  to  make  bread  from  stones,  to  gain 
power  in  all  the  world  by  an  ambitious  and  worldly 
poHcy  such  as  that  which  Mahomet  adopted,  when  he 
led  the  Saracen  armies  to  the  conquest  of  the  nations.^ 
Why  was  it  that  our  Lord  did  not  follow  such  a  plan 
of  life  ?  He  might  have  had  more  than  twelve  legions 
of  angels  to  aid  His  work.  They  could  have  preached 
the  gospel  in  all  the  world  during  His  lifetime.^ 

The  fact  is  that  Jesus  rejected  all  such  suggestions 
as  temptations  of  the  god  of  this  world,  and  he  se- 
lected the  quiet,  unostentatious  life  of  a  teacher  an^ 
preacher  and  helper  of  men.  **  By  little  and  Httle  " 
He  did  His  work.  At  the  beginning  of  His  ministry, 
Instead  of  casting  Himself  down  from  a  pinnacle  of 
the  temple  in  a  dramatic  way,  so  as  to  be  rescued  by 
the  angels,  He  commenced  by  talking  about  the 
Kingdom  of  God  with  Andrew,  and  Simon  Peter, 
two  fishermen,  who  had  come  to  the  baptism  of 
John.^  The  next  day  He  talked  with  Philip  and  with 
Nathaniel.  The  next  day  He  went  with  His  disci- 
ples, to  a  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  where  He  had 
been  invited  with  His  mother.  There  His  first  miracle 
was  wrought,  not  for  Himself,  but  for  others.^  Then 
He  seems  to  have  gone  to  Nazareth,  where  He  had 
been  brought  up,  and  He  went,  as  His  custom  had 
been  from  His  childhood,  to  the  synagogue,  on  the 
Sabbath  day.^  Then  He  went  to  Capernaum,  a  city 
by  the    sea,  and    dwelt  there.     There    He  began  to 

1  St.  Matthew  iv.  1-12.  ^  st.  John  i.  38-48. 

2  St.  Matthew  xxvi.  53.  *  St.  John  ii.  1-12. 

5  St.  Luke  iv.  16. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.       1 83 

preach  in  a  simple  way,  saying,  "  Repent,  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  ^  Then  He  called 
other  disciples,  men  of  the  common  people,  and  they 
followed  Him.  After  that  He  went  from  village  to 
village,  up  and  down  in  Galilee,  ^*  teaching  in  the  syna- 
gogues, preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and 
healing  all  manner  of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sick- 
ness among  the  people,"  ^  sometimes  raising  the  dead 
to  life,  sometimes  commanding  the  winds  and  the 
sea,  and  they  obeyed  Him.  But  He  made  no  display 
of  this  miraculous  power.  He  wrought  these  signs 
and  wonders  when  He  had  occasion  to  do  so.  He 
never  wrought  them  to  show  how  great  things  He 
could  do.  But  He  went  about  doing  good,  and  when 
they  brought  the  sick,  or  the  lame,  or  the  blind  to 
Him,  He  healed  them  by  a  word,  or  by  a  touch,  and 
then  went  on  His  way,  to  teach  and  to  comfort  and 
help  all  whom  He  met.  It  was  the  common  people 
who  heard  Him  gladly,  —  the  fishermen  of  Galilee, 
the  poor,  the  lepers,  and  the  outcasts,  publicans  and 
sinners.  He  went,  just  as  physicians  do,  to  the  sick, 
to  those  in  the  greatest  need,  to  the  lost. 

I  think  titat  Jesus  accompHshed  a  great  work  dur- 
ing His  public  ministry,  but  it  was  a  humble  work, 
done  very  quietly,  with  great  self-denial,  among 
obscure  people,  a  little  to-day,  and  a  little  more  to- 
morrow, and  so  He  filled  out  His  days  and  months 
until  the  work  was  done.  I  suppose  the  wisdom  of 
men  would  have  chosen  a  different  plan  of  life  for  the 
divine  Redeemer.  We  would  have  had  the  angels, 
who  sang  at  the  birth,  become  the  ministers  to  His 
1  St.  Matthew  iv.  17.  2  st.  Matthew  iv.  23. 


1 84      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 

childhood,  and  His  youth.^  We  would  have  had  Him 
transfigured  upon  the  mount  of  glory  so  often  that 
His  divinity  would  have  been  continually  flashing  out, 
so  that  no  one  would  have  dared  to  hinder  His  work. 
But  that  was  not  His  way.  There  was  one  day  of 
transfiguration,  and  only  one.^  He  was  more  truly 
divine  in  His  estate  of  humiliation,  eating  with  pubH- 
cans  and  sinners,  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  poor, 
blessing  the  little  children,  washing  the  feet  of  His 
disciples,  than  He  would  have  been  if  the  glory  of  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world  had  been  given  to  Him. 

IV. 

If  this  was  the  way  in  which  our  Lord  did  His 
work,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Christian  Church 
was  planted  by  a  similar  method.  There  was,  it  is 
true,  the  great  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  disciples 
were  **  endued  with  power  from  on  high,"  and  when 
thousands  were  added  to  the  Lord  in  a  day.^  But 
that  was  only  the  beginning.  Those  new  disciples 
became  witnesses.  Very  soon  persecution  began, 
and  they  were  all  "  scattered  abroad  throughout  the 
regions  of  Judea  and  Samaria,  except  the  Apostles."* 
Those  humble  men  and  women  told  the  story  of  Jesus 
wherever  they  went,  and  men  believed.  There  were 
not  many  wise  men  among  them,  —  not  many  learned 
or  eloquent  men.  The  most  efficient  of  them  all  was 
Paul,  the  tentmaker,  whose  own  hands  ministered  to 
his  necessities.^     Those  early  Christians  were  gener- 

1  St.  Luke  ii.  9-14.  ^  Acts  ii.  1-4. 

2  St.  Mark  ix.  2.  *  Acts  viii.  i. 

^  Acts  XX.  23. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.       1 85 

ally  men  of  one  talent.  It  is  true  they  had  the 
power  to  work  miracles,  but  they  used  this  power 
very  quietly.  They  never  sought  occasions  for  the 
display  of  their  miraculous  gifts.  They  used  them, 
in  connection  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  as 
the  tokens  God  had  given  them  that  their  commission 
was  from  Him.  They  used  them  to  heal,  and  comfort, 
and  help  those  to  whom  they  were  giving  their  mes- 
sage, but  never  to  draw  attention  to  themselves. 
They  did  not  do  great  and  striking  things.  The 
world  despised  them.  "  By  little  and  little  "  they 
made  their  way  from  village  to  village,  and  from 
province  to  province,  until  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  generations,  the  little  leaven  hidden  in  the 
meaP  had  diffused  itself  through  all  the  provinces  of 
the  Roman  Empire. 

The  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  the 
world  since  that  day  has  been  by  a  similar  method. 
When  the  Anglo-Saxons  invaded  Britain,  and  swept 
away  the  Christianity  that  had  been  planted  there,  it 
took  more  than  a  century  to  re-establish  the  church 
in  that  island.  It  took  several  hundred  years  to  bring 
central  and  northern  Europe  from  paganism  to  Chris- 
tianity. The  progress  of  modern  missions  has  been 
such  as  to  encourage  the  church,  but  it  has  not  been 
rapid.  We  are  making  progress  every  year  in  India, 
and  China,  and  Japan,  and  in  Africa.  But  it  is  "by 
little  and  little."  The  time  has  not  yet  come  when  "  a 
nation  shall  be  born  at  once."  ^  The  progress  of 
freedom  in  the  world  is  comparatively  slow.  The 
great  reforms  we  are  now  pushing  forward  are  gain- 
1  St.  Matt.  xiii.  33.  2  T^nyvt:  S. 


1 86      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 

ing  ground,  but  it  will  require  a  great  deal  of  faith 
and  self-sacrifice  to  secure  the  final  triumph  of  jus- 
tice, and  temperance,  and  the  law  of  kindness  and 
charity  in  the  world. 


Let  us  take  as  another  illustration,  the  unfolding  of 
the  spiritual  life  in  a  single  individual.  And  here  I 
may  appeal  to  your  own  experience  as  believers  in 
Christ.  Go  back  to  the  time  when  your  new  life 
began.  It  is  possible  that  you  fancied  that  the  vic- 
tory had  been  won.  You  had  a  new  and  living  hope, 
with  the  peace  of  God,  and  the  joy  of  His  salvation. 
As  time  went  on,  however,  you  learned  that  you  were 
exposed  to  many  temptations,  and  that  your  power 
of  resistance  was  very  weak.  So  that,  as  the  Apostle 
says,  when  you  willed  to  do  good,  evil  was  present 
with  you,  and  the  good  you  desired  to  do,  you  failed 
of  doing.i  The  Canaanites  were  yet  in  your  land,  — 
the  Amorites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the  Perizzites, 
and  the  Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites,  and  they  insisted 
upon  dweUing  there. 

How,  then,  have  you  made  progress  in  the  new 
life?  Has  it  not  been  ''by  little  and  little"?  You 
have  gained  strength  by  private  prayer ;  entering  into 
your  closet,  and  shutting  out  the  world,  and  coming 
into  direct  communion  with  your  Father,  who  seeth 
in  secret.2  You  have  found  the  Bible  an  unfailing 
source  of  strength,  as  you  have  read  it  from  day  to 
day.  You  have  availed  yourself  of  the  great  system 
of  Christian  nurture  which  the  church  has  for  all  her 
,1  Rom.  yii.  19.  2  st.  Matt.  vi.  6. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.       1 8/ 

members,  such  as  Christian  fellowship,  social  and 
public  worship,  the  constant  and  prayerful  use  of  the 
ministry  of  the  word.  You  have  needed,  day  by  day, 
to  get  your  daily  bread  by  the  use  of  these  means  of 
Christian  growth.  If,  at  any  time,  you  have  neglected 
any  of  these  means,  such  as  private  prayer,  the  reading 
of  the  Bible,  or  the  Sabbath  worship,  you  have  found 
that  you  were  losing  and  not  gaining.  Those  whom 
you  have  seen  falling  behind  in  the  Christian  race 
have  very  often  confessed  that  it  was  from  the  neglect 
of  these  simple  duties  of  the  closet,  or  the  family 
altar,  or  of  the  sanctuary. 

Each  one  of  the  Christian  graces  has  a  slow 
growth.  Faith,  for  example,  is  weak,  and  unstable 
at  first.  We  learn  to  trust  God  by  trusting  Him. 
We  gain  the  assurance  of  faith  by  years  of  exper- 
ience. Only  the  mature  Christian  can  enter  into  the 
confident  trust  of  David,  or  of  Paul,  or  of  that  gifted 
New  England  poet  who  said  : 

"  I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 

Their  fronded  palms  in  air, 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 

Beyond  His  love  and  care. 
And  so  beside  the  silent  sea 

I  wait  the  muffled  oar, 
No  harm  from  Him  can  come  to  me. 

On  ocean  or  on  shore." ^ 

VI. 

The  good  we  have  done,  has  been,  for  the  most  part, 
by  the  little  quiet  deeds  of  a  common  life.    The  Saviour 
gave  his  approval  to  such  as  gave  cups  of  water  in 
1  Whittier.     The  Eternal  Goodness. 


1 88      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 

the  name  of  a  disciple,  to  those  who  visited  the 
prisoners,  and  clothed  the  naked,  and  fed  the  hungry. 
He  said,  *'  he  that  is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least, 
is  faithful  also  in  much."  ^  "  Ye  are  the  Hght  of  the 
world,"  He  said,  — ''  let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  ^  In  saying  this,  He 
placed  us  in  the  same  relation  to  our  fellow  men,  with 
Himself,  for  He  came  as  the  light  of  the  world.^  If 
we  are  indeed  the  Hght  of  the  world,  our  light  will 
go  forth  quietly  and  constantly,  like  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  which  are  always  shining,  which  go  without  noise 
or  stir,  which  would  not  waken  an  infant  in  its  cradle, 
but  which  bring  life  to  all  the  world.  Great  occa- 
sions come  but  seldom  to  any  of  us.  To  the  largest 
number  they  never  come.  The  great  good  that  is 
done  in  the  world  is  not  apt  to  be  done  by  those 
who  are  the  most  brilliant,  or  the  richest,  or  the  most 
famous.  It  is  rather  by  those  who  are  faithful  from 
day  to  day,  in  the  common  duties  of  a  common  Hfe. 

VII. 

Let  us  now  apply  this  principle,  which  God  seems 
to  follow  in  nature,  and  in  His  providence,  and  in  the 
unfolding  of  the  spiritual  life,  to  the  work  of  the 
chttrch. 

I  do  not  forget,  of  course,  that  the  church  has,  back 
of  it,  the  power  of  Christ.  It  is  strong  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God's  Spirit.  The  church  uses  the  truth 
which  God  has  revealed,  and  the  ordinances  which 
1  St.  Luke  xvi.  lo.         ^  St.  Matt.  v.  i6.        ^  St.  John  viii.  12. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.       1 89 

He  has  appointed.  It  is  also  true,  that  every  church 
has  its  own  special  work  to  do,  and  its  success  will 
depend  upon  its  fidelity,  and  its  wisdom.  The  work 
of  a  church  is,  —  scattering  the  seeds  of  truth  among 
the  people,  training  the  children  for  Christ,  caring 
for  the  poor,  and  the  sick,  and  the  afflicted,  and  so 
showing  forth  the  true  spirit  of  religion.  How  simple 
this  work  is,  —  partly  a  work  of  education,  and  train- 
ing, of  teaching  the  divine  word,  of  living  good  lives, 
by  doing  good  to  all  about  us  as  the  Master  did.  It 
consists  in  a  multitude  of  little  things,  in  which  the 
youngest  and  weakest  may  have  a  part,  and  yet 
the  final  result  is  such  as  will  cause  the  angels  to 
rejoice. 

Here,  for  example,  is  a  young  Christian,  with  a 
class  in  the  Sunday  School.  She  studies  her  Bible 
faithfully.  She  visits  her  pupils,  and  wins  their  con- 
fidence. She  seeks  to  get  the  best  methods  of  teach- 
ing. She  prays  for  her  scholars  by"  name,  from  day 
to  day.  I  have  in  mind  such  teachers  as  that,  who 
have  been  owned  of  God  in  leading  their  scholars 
into  the  Hfe  of  faith.  .The  influence  of  such  teachers 
is  very  often  as  permanent  as  life  itself. 

Take  the  work  of  a  mother,  who  is  moulding-  the 
characters  of  her  children  by  the  principles  of  kind- 
ness, and  honesty,  and  piety.  Her  own  character 
counts  for  more  than  her  words,  —  the  tones  of  her 
voice,  the  whole  tenor  of  her  life.  There  is  no  other 
influence  to  be  compared  with  hers,  for  she  makes 
the  earliest  impressions,  and  the  most  permanent. 
The  church  which  has  such  mothers  training  young 
souls  for  the  life  eternal,  cannot  fail  to  grow. 


190      GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE. 

Or,  take  the  work  of  a  pastor.  It  is  seldom  that 
he  has  any  great  things  to  do.  He  is  occupied  from 
day  to  day  with  Httle  things.  His  parochial  work 
counts  for  more  than  his  work  in  the  pulpit.  He  is 
the  minister  of  help  and  consolation  to  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men,  to  sick  people,  to  the  afflicted,  and 
the  tempted,  to  the  poor,  and  the  strangers,  and  the 
friendless.  In  his  preaching  the  pastor  needs  to  set 
forth  the  simple  truths  of  the  gospel,  "  the  old, 
old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love."  He  needs  to  keep 
himself  clear  from  "  philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after 
the  tradition  of  men,  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  and 
not  after  Christ ;  "  ^  and  from  the  "  enticing  words  of 
man's  wisdom ;  "  and  to  determine  to  know  nothing 
among  his  people  "save,  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  cruci- 
fied." ^  The  useful  minister  is  one  who  gives  "  line 
upon  line,  precept  upon  precept;"  who  minds  not 
high  things ;  and  who  "  watches  for  souls  as  one 
that  must  give  account."  ^ 

The  truth  Is,  God's  method  of  working,  in  the  nat- 
ural world,  and  in  the  spiritual  world  is  wonderful. 
He  loves  to  hide  His  power.  He  works  through 
human  instruments,  so  that  we  may  be  co-workers 
with  Him.  It  is  true,  in  a  wonderful  way,  that  ''  our 
fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ."  *  A  Christian  church  has  within  itself  all  the 
means  of  growth.  God's  spirit  and  His  truth  are 
sufficient  to  secure  a  steady  and  a  constant  progress. 
There  are  opportunities  coming  to  us  all  the  time. 

1  Col.  ii.  8.  3  Heb.  xiii.  17. 

2  I  Cor.  ii.  2.  *  I  John  i.  3. 


GROWTH  OF  KINGDOM  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.      191 

The  prayer  of  faith  reaches  the  ear  of  God.  All 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth. 

And  still,  our  work  is,  and  will  continue  to  be,  a 
work  of  faith.  The  poor  we  have  always  with  us, 
even  to  this  day.  There  are  still  people  dwelling  on 
the  earth  whose  habitations  are  the  habitations  of 
cruelty.  The  kingdom  of  God  has  been  extending, 
and  it  will  assuredly  fill  the  whole  earth.  But  it  is 
growing  very  slowly.  By  little  and  little,  God  is 
casting  out  the  evil,  and  bringing  in  the  good.  Per- 
haps the  final  triumph  of  the  kingdom  may  come  in 
our  time.  But  we  cannot  be  sure.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  know  the  times  or  the  seasons,  which  "  the  Father 
hath  set  within  His  own  authority."  ^ 

But  we  can  build,  "  every  man  over  against  his  own 
house."  ^  We  can  teach  our  children.  We  can  bear 
our  testimony  to  the  reality  of  a  religious  experience. 
We  can  speak  the  kind  word,  and  do  the  kind  act 
day  by  day.  We  can  give  the  widow's  mite ;  per- 
haps we  can  break  the  alabaster  box  of  ointment. 
We  can  live,  by  God's  help,  gentle,  faithful,  helpful 
Christian  lives.  We  can  do  good  by  little  and  little, 
day  by  day,  and  year  by  year.  "  She  hath  done 
what  she  could,"  was  the  highest  commendation 
which  our  Lord  bestowed  upon  any  one  ;  and  if  we  do 
that,  the  very  humblest  of  us  will  be  doing  some- 
thing towards  the  complete  and  final  triumph  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  world. 

1  Acts  i.  7.  2  Neh.  iii.  28. 


XII. 
THE   BOUND   LIFE. 


13 


XII. 

THE   BOUND   LIFE. 

And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  U7ito  Jerusalem, 
not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there. 

Acts  xx.  22. 

It  is  an  Interesting  question  why  St.  Paul  under- 
took his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem.  He  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  important  work  of  his  crowded 
life.  He  had  been,  for  some  twenty  years,  planting 
churches  in  the  most  important  cities  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  of  Greece.  His  personal  influence  in  those 
churches  was  very  great.  His  apostolic  authority 
was  recognized  so  that  he  had  been  able  to  repress 
the  disorders  in  the  great  church  at  Corinth,  and  to 
check  the  defection  of  the  churches  of  Galatia.  He 
had,  as  he  said,  "  the  care  of  all  the  churches,"  and 
on  this  account,  he  had  written,  within  a  short  period, 
the  most  important  of  his  epistles,  and  sent  them  to 
the  churches.  It  was  the  period  of  his  greatest  intel- 
lectual activity,  and  highest  usefulness.  But  all  at 
once,  he  determined  to  leave  all  this  work,  and  go  up 
to  Jerusalem. 

Why  was  it? 

He  tells  us  in  one  place  that  he  went  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  worship.^  In  another  place  we  read  that  he 
hasted  to  be  at  Jerusalem  the  day  of  Pentecost.^    But 

^  Acts  xxiv.  II.  2  Acts  XX.  16. 


196  THE  BOUND   LIFE. 

he  could  have  worshipped  God  as  acceptably,  while 
at  his  work  in  Macedonia,  as  in  Jerusalem.  He  had 
taught  that  the  laws  of  Moses  concerning  Jewish  sacri- 
fices, and  festivals  were  no  longer  binding.  He  states, 
in  another  place,  that  he  went  to  carry  the  contribu- 
tion, which  he  had  been  gathering  from  the  churches, 
for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem.  But  assuredly,  he 
might  have  sent  this  contribution  by  the  hand  of 
Timothy,  or  of  Luke,  without  leaving  his  work. 

Besides,  the  narrative  shows  that  St.  Paul  knew 
that  great  dangers  and  trials  awaited  him  at  Jerusa- 
lem. He  expresses  the  apprehension,  in  more  than 
one  place,  that  he  should  not  be  permitted  to  come 
back  to  the  beloved  churches  that  needed  his  services 
so  much.  And  the  question  returns,  why  the  great 
Apostle,  who  had  been,  for  so  many  years,  preaching 
the  gospel  all  the  way  from  Antioch  to  Philippi,  and 
Corinth,  should  have  left  "  his  ministry,  and  labor  of 
love,"  without  any  apparent  necessity ;  why  he  should 
have  unclasped  the  hands  that  hung  about  his  neck, 
and  left  the  bedside  of  the  sick,  and  the  dying,  and 
gone  away  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  was  not  needed, 
and  where  he  knew  that  bonds  and  afflictions 
awaited  him,  and  where  it  was  only  too  likely  that 
his  useful  life  would  be  sacrificed."^ 

We  have  the  answer  in  the  text.  "  I  go  bound  in 
the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem."  Some  have  said  that  by 
the  spirit,  Paul  means  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the  use 
of  the  word  in  other  passages  seems  to  show  that  it 
was  his  own  spirit.^     He  was   going   to  Jerusalem, 

1  Dr.  J.  O.  Means,  Bib.  Sacra  xxii.  529. 

2  Acts  xvii.  16.     Romans  i.  9.     Romans  viii.  16. 


THE   BOUND   LIFE.  I97 

free,  as  to  his  body,  but  constrained,  as  to  his  mind, 
bound  in  the  spirit,  by  a  clear  conviction  that  God 
would  have  him  go.  It  was  not  a  vision  such  as 
Paul  had,  when,  at  Alexandria  Troas,  there  stood  a 
man  of  Macedonia,  and  prayed  him,  saying,  "  Come 
over  and  help  us ;  "  -^  nor  such  as  he  had  when  the 
angel  of  God  stood  by  him  and  said,  '*  Fear  not,  Paul, 
thou  must  stand  before  Caesar."  ^  This,  so  far  as 
we  know,  was  a  simple  conviction,  impressed  upon 
his  mind,  that  God  would  have  him  leave  his  work, 
and  go  to  Jerusalem.  When  we  consider  that  this 
impression  that  the  Lord  was  leading  him  towards 
Jerusalem  governed  his  action,  and  led  him  into 
a  new  stage  of  his  life,  and  that  his  yielding  to  this 
conviction  was  a  turning  point  in  his  career,  we  have 
reason  enough  for  inquiring  as  to  t/ic  7iature  of  this 
binding  of  the  Spirit ;  and  its  comiection  with  our 
present  religions  life. 

I. 

We  have,  in  the  first  place,  the  plain  statement  that 
St.  Panl  was  bound  hi  the  spiidt  to  go  unto  Jerusalem. 
Turning  back  to  the  earliest  reference  to  his  plan,  to 
go  to  Jerusalem,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
written  a  year  before,  we  find  him  giving  directions 
concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints,  and  the  mes- 
sengers who  should  carry  it  to  Jerusalem,  and  saying 
"  If  it  be  meet  for  me  to  go  also,  they  shall  go  with 
me."^     So  far,  he  was   only  thinking  of  going,  but 

1  Acts  xvi.  9.  2  Acts  xxvii.  24. 

3  1  Cor.  xvi.  1-4. 


198  THE  BOUND   LIFE. 

had  no  fixed  purpose  to  go.  A  little  later  we  read, 
in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Acts,  that  Paul  "  pur- 
posed in  the  spirit  ...  to  go  to  Jerusalem."  ^  And  now, 
after  he  has  set  out,  he  tells  us  that  he  was  "  bound 
in  the  spirit  to  go  to  Jerusalem." 

St.  Paul  had  accustomed  himself  to  follow  the  lead- 
ings of  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  looked  for  the  divine 
direction,  and  expected  it.  If  he  had  a  rising  inclina- 
tion to  go  in  any  direction,  he  sought  for  light  as  to 
the  way  of  his  duty,  and  under  the  guidance  of  God's 
Spirit  the  thought  developed  into  a  plan,  and  the 
plan  into  a  purpose. 

The  Bible  teaches  us  that  "  the  steps  of  a  good 
man  are  ordered  of  the  Lord."'^  We  are  told  to 
commit  our  way  unto  the  Lord.  St.  James  says,  *'  If 
any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God."  ^  Our 
minds  are  open  on  all  sides  to  the  influence  of  God's 
Spirit.  We  recognize  this  fact  when  we  pray,  ''  Lead 
us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil 
one."  We  have  the  gracious  assurance  of  our  Re- 
deemer :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end."*  He  says,  that  the  Comforter  shall  come  and 
abide  with  us  forever.^  These  assurances  encourage 
the  expectation  that  He  will  show  us  the  way. 

Sometimes  there  is  simply  an  impression  upon  the 
mind,  which  is  deep  and  permanent.  Sometimes  this 
impression  is  confirmed  by  the  course  of  events.  It 
is  connected  with  prayer.  In  such  ways  God  calls 
young  men  to  enter  the  Christian  ministry,  or  to  go 

^  Acts  xix.  21.  ^  James  i.  5. 

2  Psalms  xxxvii.  23,  a.  v.  ^  St.  Matthew  xxviii.  20. 

^  St.  John  xiv.  16. 


THE  BOUND   LIFE.  I99 

into  the  missionary  work,  or  He  calls  His  disciples  to 
some  special  service.  The  Spirit  seems  to  say  to  a 
disciple,  "  run  speak  to  this  young  man,"  or  go 
and  enter  upon  that  other  service.  In  the  old  Eng- 
lish speech  it  was  common  to  term  a  man's  business, 
in  life,  his  calling.  In  this  sense  we  all  have  our 
callings.  The  Hfe  of  a  Christian  is  the  life  of  faith. 
He  walks  by  faith,  not  by  sight,  and  expects  to  be 
guided  by  the  will  of  the  Father.  He  hears  a  voice 
that  others  do  not  hear ;  he  sees  a  light  that  others 
do  not  see. 

XL 

Following  still  further  the  teachings  of  the  text,  we 
should  observe  that  St.  Paul  was  going  to  Jerusalem 
not  knowing  the  things  that  should  befall  him  there. 
He  had  some  general  knowledge  of  them,  for  the 
Spirit  testified  unto  him  that  in  every  city  bonds  and 
afflictions  awaited  him,^  but  as  to  the  form  of  suffer- 
ing that  was  appointed  him,  and  as  to  the  issue  of 
the  visit  to  Jerusalem,  he  was  left  in  the  dark.  In 
the  chapter  before  this  we  read  that  St.  Paul  said  that 
after  he  had  been  to  Jerusalem  he  must  also  see 
Rome.2  That  was  his  plan,  and  writing  to  the 
Romans,  a  little  before,  he  had  said :  "  Now  I  be- 
seech you,  brethren,  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
by  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye  strive  together  with 
me  in  your  prayers  to  God  for  me ;  that  I  may  be 
delivered  from  them  that  are  disobedient  in  Judea, 
and  that  my  ministration  that  I  have  for  Jerusalem  may 

»  Acts  XX.  23.  2  Acts  xix.  21. 


200  THE  BOUND    LIFE. 

be  acceptable  to  the  saints ;  that  I  may  come  unto 
you  in  joy  through  the  will  of  God,  and  together  with 
you  may  find  rest."  ^  This  request  discloses  the 
deepest  thoughts  of  the  Apostle  at  this  time.  He  was 
on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  with  a  clear  conviction  that 
it  was  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  go,  and  yet  he 
was  going  as  Abraham  went  to  Canaan,  ''  not  know- 
ing whither  he  went."  He  had  his  plans  for  service 
after  this  journey,  but  he  was  not  sure  that  they 
would  be  carried  out.  He  desired  to  see  Rome,  that 
he  might  have  some  fruit  of  his  ministry  in  that  city ; 
but  he  was  not  sure  that  he  should  see  Rome.  He 
had  no  idea,  at  that  time,  of  the  way  by  which  God 
would  take  him  to  Rome,  —  after  a  long  captivity, 
and  a  dangerous  winter  voyage,  and  a  shipwreck :  — 
take  him  there  a  prisoner  in  chains,  with  "  a  certain 
soldier  that  kept  him,"  to  dwell  two  whole  years  in 
his  own  hired  house,  receiving  all  who  came  unto 
him,  preaching  in  bonds,  the  kingdom  of  God,  no 
man  forbidding  him.^ 

Nevertheless,  this  last  journey  towards  Jerusalem 
was  full  of  forebodings  of  some  great  change  in  his 
life.  There  was  an  unwonted  tenderness  and  solem- 
nity about  his  speech  and  his  bearing.  Thus,  at  Alex- 
andria Troas,  he  remained  a  whole  week  with  the 
disciples:  and  on  the  First  day  of  the  week,  he 
preached  unto  them,  intending  to  depart  on  the  mor- 
row; and  prolonged  his  speech  until  midnight.  It 
does  not  appear  that  Paul  was  ever  before  so  long 
preaching.  It  was,  as  if  he  would  make  the  most  of 
a  last  opportunity.     After  He  had  restored  to  life  the 

1  Romans  xv.  30-32.  '^  Acts  xxviii.  16-31. 


THE   BOUND   LIFE.  201 

young  man  who  had  fallen  down  from  the  third  story, 
and  was  taken  up  dead,  we  read,  that  he  came  up 
again  into  the  upper  room,  and  broke  the  sacramental 
bread  with  the  disciples,  and  then,  ''  he  talked  with 
them  a  long  while,  even  till  the  break  of  day."  The 
words  do  not  indicate  that  it  was  a  formal  discourse 
but  a  familiar  talk,  as  the  people  gathered  about  the 
beloved  Apostle.^ 

He  did  not  go  with  his  companions  in  the  ship, 
the  next  day,  although  it  would  appear  that  they  had 
all  paid  their  fare  for  the  whole  voyage,  for  he  pur- 
posed to  go  by  land,  and  probably  on  foot,  all  the 
twenty  miles  to  Assos,  where  they  were  next  to  land. 
The  delay  enabled  him  to  spend  a  little  more  time 
with  the  disciples,  for  the  ship  must  make  a  long 
course  around  Cape  Lectum,  while  the  Roman  road 
which  he  would  follow  led  directly  across  the  country. 
St.  Paul  was  now  about  sixty  years  old,  and  such  a 
journey  in  the  heat  of  that  spring  day  would  be  un- 
dertaken only  by  a  man  of  active  habits  and  resolute 
spirit.  He  had  been  up  all  the  night.  But  he  de- 
sired to  take  a  last  look  at  the  familiar  places,  for 
Troas  was  classic  ground.  He  would  pass  by  the 
streams  of  Ida,  and  through  the  celebrated  oak 
groves,  then  in  full  foliage,  which  cover  all  that 
shore  with  greenness  and  shade.  We  can  almost  see 
the  quick  active  man,  of  short  stature,  high  and  bald 
forehead,  —  as  the  old  pictures  represent  him,  —  setting 
out  from  the  city  in  the  grey  of  the  morning,  pursu- 
ing his  solitary  way,  taking  in  the  beauties  of  the 
landscape,  enjoying    the    solitude,  and  the  hours  of 

1  Acts  XX.  7-12. 


202  THE  BOUND    LIFE. 

quiet  communion  with  God.  He  entered  Assos  by 
the  Sacred  Way,  among  the  famous  tombs,  through 
the  ancient  gateway  which  is  still  to  be  seen,  and 
joined  his  companions,  according  to  his  plan  in  the 
morning.^ 

They  came,  after  a  sail  of  two  or  three  days  to 
Miletus,  and  St.  Paul  sent  for  the  elders  of  the  church 
of  Ephesus.  When  they  were  come  he  said:  ''And 
now,  I  know  that  ye  all  among  whom  I  went  about 
preaching  the  kingdom,  shall  see  my  face  no  more. 
Wherefore,  I  testify  unto  you  this  day,  that  I  am  pure 
from  the  blood  of  all  men.  For  I  shrunk  not  from 
declaring  unto  you  the  whole  counsel  of  God."  We 
read  that  when  the  Apostle  had  finished  his  address, 
*'  he  kneeled  down,  and  prayed  with  them  all.  And 
they  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck,  and  kissed 
him,  sorrowing  most  of  all  for  the  word  which  he  had 
spoken,  that  they  should  behold  his  face  no  more."^ 
So  he  went  towards  Jerusalem. 

Hastening  his  journey,  the  Apostle  reached  Tyre 
four  or  five  days  later.  He  sought  out  the  disciples 
in  that  city  also,  and  abode  with  them  seven  days. 
When  he  went  away  they  followed  him,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  till  they  were  out  of  the  city :  and 
then  they  kneeled  down  on  the  beach,  and  prayed, 
and  bade  each  other  farewell.^ 

Was  there  ever  a  journey  fuller  of  pathos  than  this? 
The  great  soul  of  the  Apostle  was  full  of  affection  for 
those   disciples,   many  of  whom   were    his    spiritual 

1  Farrar's  Life  of  St.  Paul  p.  512.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  vol. 
L  pp.  299-305.    Vol.  II.  pp.  209-214. 

2  Acts  XX.  25-38.  3  Acts  xxi.  1-6. 


THE  BOUND   LIFE.  20$ 

children.  But  he  was  going  away  from  them, ''  bound 
in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem,"  bidding  farewell  to 
each  familiar  place  as  he  passed  it ;  —  going  in  the 
spirit  of  a  hero ;  in  the  spirit  of  a  martyr ;  not  know- 
ing whether  he  was  to  be  a  martyr  or  not ;  knowing 
only  that  "  bonds  and  afflictions  awaited  "  him  in  every 
place.  Yet  none  of  these  thing  moved  him,  for  he 
was  ready  for  whatever  might  be  appointed  for  him ; 
having  a  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Jesus,  —  and 
yet,  having  a  desire,  if  the  Lord  should  permit,  to 
preach  the  gospel  in  Rome ;  and  then  to  push  on  into 
Spain,  and  plant  the  standard  of  the  cross,  by  the 
pillars  of  Hercules. 

This  is  the  Hfe  of  faith ;  going  with  simple  trust, 
not  always  knowing  where,  not  always  knowing 
why,  or  how:  but  going  forward,  into  the  shad- 
ows; into  the  darkness;  the  unknown  experiences; 
ready  for  joy,  or  for  sorrow  as  God  may  appoint, 
casting  all  our  care  upon  Him,  and  trusting  His  word 
of  promise. 

HI. 

Another  part  of  the  experiences  of  St.  Paul  on  this 
journey  related  to  tJic  persuasions  of  Jiis  friends,  who 
desired  to  turn  him  back  from  Jernsalem.  He  had  to 
sunder  very  strong  ties  when  he  set  out  for  Jerusalem. 
His  friends  had  not  received  the  same  indications  of 
God's  purposes,  that  had  been  given  to  him.  And 
so  they  held  him  back  with  all  the  strength  of  their 
influence.  It  was  so  at  Miletus,  where  the  disciples 
accompanied  him  to  the  ship,  and  all  **  wept  sore  and 


204  THE   BOUND   LIFE. 

fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed  him."  ^  It  was  still  more 
so  at  Tyre,  where  the  disciples  '*  said  to  Paul  through 
the  Spirit,  that  he  should  not  set  foot  in  Jerusalem."  ^ 
They  said  this  to  him  through  the  Spirit,  and  what 
was  he  to  do  ?  He  was  bound  as  to  his  own  spirit,  to 
go,  and  yet  these  brethren,  through  the  Holy  Spirit, 
would  hold  him  back.  Perhaps  we  should  say,  as 
Dean  Alford  does  in  his  commentary  on  this  passage, 
that  this  was  an  instance  in  which  the  spirits  of  the 
prophets  are  subject  unto  the  prophets :  that  is,  the 
revelation  made  by  the  Holy  Spirit  was,  in  some  sort, 
under  the  influence  of  that  man's  will  and  tempera- 
ment. Those  Tyrian  prophets  knew,  by  the  Spirit, 
that  great  trials  awaited  St.  Paul,  if  he  should  go  on, 
and  their  intense  love  for  him  led  them  to  interpret 
the  revelation  as  intended  to  prevent  his  journey. 
But  the  Apostle  was  under  a  leading  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  too  plain  to  be  mistaken,  and  so  he  followed 
the  light  which  God  was  giving  him,  in  his  own 
soul,  and  gave  no  heed  to  the  persuasions  of  his 
friends. 

When  they  reached  Caesarea  there  came  from 
Judea  a  prophet,  named  Agabus.  This  prophet,  tak- 
ing Paul's  girdle,  bound  his  own  feet  and  hands,  and 
said  :  ''  Thus  saith  the  Holy  Spirit ;  So  shall  the  Jews 
at  Jerusalem  bind  the  man  that  owneth  this  girdle, 
and  shall  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles."  St.  Paul  un- 
derstood this  to  be  a  message  from  God.  Then  his 
friends  besought  him  not  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem. 
But  he  answered,  "  What  do  ye,  weeping  and  break- 
ing my  heart?  for  I  am  ready  not  to  be  bound  only, 
1  Acts  XX.  37.  2  Acts  xxi.  4. 


THE   BOUND   LIFE.  205 

but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem,  for  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus."  ^  It  was  the  final  victory  of  his  faith  over  the 
persuasions  of  his  friends,  and  that  too  in  the  midst 
of  the  perplexities  that  were  raised  by  the  conflict  of 
revelations.  It  is  very  likely  that  St.  Paul  could  not 
have  explained  it  all ;  but  he  knew,  in  his  own  con- 
sciousness, that  God  was  guiding  him,  and  that  he 
was  bound  to  follow  this  inner  light,  and  so  he  shut 
his  ears  to  all  other  voices,  and  went  on  in  the  way 
wherein  the  Spirit  was  leading  him.  Let  them  say 
what  they  would,  he  was  bound  in  the  spirit  to  go 
unto  Jerusalem. 

IV. 

In  order  to  include  all  the  elements  in  the  experi- 
ence of  St.  Paul,  we  need  to  look  forward  to  the  issue 
of  his  journey  to  Jerusalem.  In  a  small  view  of  things, 
it  would  be  called  disastrous.  His  ministry  in  Asia 
and  in  Macedonia  was  interrupted.  So  far  as  we 
know,  he  never  went  back  to  the  scenes  of  his  earlier 
labors.  His  life  was  never  afterwards  what  it  had 
been  before.  Those  disciples  who  loved  him  so  much 
never  saw  his  face  again,  unless  it  may  have  been  for 
a  brief  visit  several  years  later.  He  did  not  succeed 
in  conciliating  the  Jews,  either  by  the  liberal  contribu- 
tions he  brought  for  the  poor  saints,  or  by  the  respect 
which  he  showed  for  the  temple  and  its  worship.  He 
was  presently  seized  by  the  Jewish  mob,  and  beaten 
in  the  courts  of  the  temple,  and  was  only  saved  from 
immediate  death  by  the  interference  of  the  chief 
captain.     Then   followed    the   long   imprisonment  at 

1  Acts  xxi.  10-14. 


206  THE  BOUND   LIFE. 

Caesarea,  with  its  enforced  idleness  and  its  tedious 
delays.  But  how  lofty  the  spirit  of  the  Apostle  dur- 
ing his  confinement.  How  fine  the  opportunities  he 
enjoyed  of  preaching  the  gospel,  and  how  fearlessly 
he  used  them,  so  that  the  Roman  governor  trembled 
as  his  prisoner  *'  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temper- 
ance, and  judgment  to  come."  ^  Two  years  later, 
there  were  the  addresses  in  the  presence  not  only  of 
the  chief  priests,  and  the  principal  men  of  the  Jews, 
but  of  Festus,  and  king  Agrippa,  and  Bernice,  with 
the  chief  captains,  and  the  principal  men  of  Caesarea, 
in  which  St.  Paul  repeated  the  story  of  his  conversion, 
and  of  his  obedience  to  the  heavenly  vision,  in  such  a 
way  that  those  who  were  sitting  in  judgment  upon  him 
were  convinced  of  his  integrity,  and  were  profoundly 
impressed  by  his  words  of  truth  and  soberness.'-^ 

After  this,  there  was  the  eventful  voyage  towards 
Rome  ;  the  meeting  with  the  brethren  who  came  out  of 
the  city  "  as  far  as  the  Market  of  Appius,  and  the 
Three  Taverns,"  to  welcome  the  Apostle  in  his  chains, 
and  the  preaching  to  all  who  resorted  to  him  with  all 
confidence ;  the  spread  of  the  Christian  Faith  in 
Rome,  until  there  were  saints  in  Caesar's  household ; 
and  then,  at  last,  as  many  suppose,  the  release ;  the 
journey  into  Spain;  the  new  churches  planted  in  a 
fresh  field ;  the  hasty  visits  to  the  scenes  of  his  earlier 
labors ;  and  finally,  after  he  had  become  "  such  an 
one  as  Paul  the  aged,"  the  second  imprisonment  at 
Rome,  and  the  glorious  martyrdom."  ^ 

1  Acts  xxiv.  25.  2  Acts  XXV.  and  xxvi. 

3  Acts  xxviii.  Clement,  ist  Ep.  to  Corinthians,  i.  v.  Eusebius, 
11-22.     Phil.  iv.  22. 


THE  BOUND   LIFE.  20/ 

It  is  for  a  practical  purpose  that  I  have  brought 
into  one  view  this  binding  of  the  spirit  of  the  great 
Apostle :  his  obedience  to  the  divine  monition,  while 
he  was  ignorant  of  the  final  purpose  of  God  in  calling 
him  to  go  to  Jerusalem;  his  firmness  in  resisting 
those  who  would  hold  him  back,  and  the  results  of 
the  course  upon  which  he  entered.  A  grand  spirit, 
this  of  St.  Paul,  —  so  simple  in  all  the  motives  of 
action,  so  tender,  so  brave,  so  obedient  unto  the 
heavenly  vision.  His  life  was  always  a  bound  life. 
He  looked  for  the  indications  of  the  will  of  God,  and 
he  was  guided  by  them.  He  lived,  through  those 
years,  "  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible." 

This  is  the  real  life  of  fait  Ji.  It  is  true,  we  are  not 
inspired  as  the  apostles  were.  We  are  liable  to  error 
in  our  judgments  of  what  God  would  have  us  do,  as 
we  are  in  our  judgments  of  other  things.  There  have 
been  those  who,  in  following  the  supposed  leadings 
of  the  Spirit,  have  given  themselves  up  to  the  follies 
and  crimes  of  fanaticism.  The  man  of  faith  is  respon- 
sible for  the  use  of  his  judgment  and  reason.  We 
cannot  guard  ourselves  too  carefully  against  error 
and  folly. 

But  for  all  that  it  remains  true,  that  our  whole  life 
is  to  be  a  life  of  faith.  The  best  security  against  the 
dangers  of  fanaticism  is  to  be  found  in  the  simplicity 
of  our  faith,  and  a  consistent  use  of  our  intelligence. 
When  vanity  or  ambition  insinuate  themselves  into 
our  minds  we  lose  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
But  the  Christian  who  inquires  in  the  honesty  of  his 
heart  what  the  Lord  would  have  him  do,  need  not 
remain   in  doubt.     God  is  so  near,  spiritual  powers 


208  THE  BOUND   LIFE. 

are  so  real,  the  necessities  of  God's  children  are  so 
great,  that  they  will  be  guided  in  the  way  of  their 
duty. 

This  is  a  truth  that  we  should  make  very  practical. 
We  need  the  strength  and  confidence  it  gives  us.  We 
need  also  the  peace  and  quietness  it  gives  us.  We 
need  to  cherish  that  sense  of  dependence  on  God  as 
the  only  Guide  in  life,  that  comes  from  the  habit  of 
looking  for  His  direction  in  every  event  of  our  lives. 
The  life  of  a  true  disciple  is  a  "  bound  life!'  because  it 
is  a  life  of  simple  faith  and  obedience ;  a  faith  that 
endures  through  times  of  darkness  and  adversity;  an 
obedience  which  no  power  even  of  human  affection 
can  hinder.  God  will  certainly  lead  us,  if  we  seek 
His  direction  ;  and  though  we  do  not  know  the  things 
that  shall  befall  us,  or  the  windings  of  the  way  over 
which  He  is  guiding  us,  yet,  if  we  are  content  to 
give  ourselves  up  to  His  direction.  He  will  bring  us 
safely  home  at  last,  and  "  the  sufferings  of  this  pres- 
ent time  are  not  worthy  to  be  comipared  with  the 
glory  which  shall  be  revealed  to  us-ward."  ^ 

1  Romans  viii.  i8. 


XIII. 
THE   SPIRIT  OF    ADOPTION. 


XIII. 

THE   SPIRIT   OF   ADOPTION. 

For  ye  received  not  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  unto  fear ; 
but  ye  received  the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba, 
Father,  Romans  viii.  15. 

There  is  only  one  subject  in  this  text,  and  that  is 
the  spirit  of  adoption,  what  it  is  and  what  it  leads  to. 
The  Apostle  is  speaking  of  believers  as  *'  the  sons  of 
God,"  who  are  guided  in  their  lives  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  — that  Spirit  that ''  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit 
that  we  are  children  of  God ;  and  if  children,  then 
heirs ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ."  ^ 
The  very  near  and  intimate  relation  of  believers  to  the 
Father  is  that  of  children  by  adoption,  so  that,  as  true 
believers,  we  have  '*  the  spirit  of  adoption." 


How  then,  first  of  all,  shall  we  define  the  spirit  of 
adoption? 

The  text  teaches  that  it  is  not  the  spirit  of  bondage 
unto  fear.  It  is  in  all  respects  contrary  to  that. 
The  Apostle  teaches  that  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who 
are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  live,  not  according  to 
the  flesh,  but  according  to  the  Spirit.  Paul  makes  a 
great  deal  of  this  new  spiritual  life.     It  is  not  simply 

1  Romans  viii.  14-17. 


212  THE   SPIRIT   OF  ADOPTION. 

an  improvement  of  the  common  life.  It  is  new.  Its 
beginning  is  in  the  work  of  God's  Spirit,  and  it  follows 
new  motives  and  principles.  Those  who  are  Chris- 
tians are  to  follow  Christ.  But  why?  Is  it  because 
they  must,  because  they  will  lose  their  souls  if 
they  do  not?  That  he  calls  "the  spirit  of  bondage 
unto  fear,"  and  he  says  that  belongs  to  those  who 
have  not  become  the  children  of  God.  But  the 
Christian  has  the  spirit  of  adoption,  instead  of  the 
spirit  of  fear.  He  places  these  two,  ''  the  spirit  of 
bondage  unto  fear "  and  ''  the  spirit  of  adoption," 
over  against  each  other.  One  is  an  outward  motive ; 
the  other  is  an  affection.  One  is  from  a  selfish  de- 
sire ;  the  other  is  unselfish.  One  is  a  constraint ;  the 
other  is  rooted  in  character.  The  person  who  is  not 
a  Christian  cannot  have  the  spirit  of  adoption.  One 
who  is  a  Christian  will  not  allow  himself  to  follow  the 
spirit  of  bondage  unto  fear. 

It  is  important  to  emphasize  this  contrast  because 
those  who  are  not  living  the  new  life  sometimes  speak 
of  Christians  as  under  bondage,  and  of  themselves  as 
free  from  the  yoke.  They  think  of  the  religious  life 
as  perhaps  an  obligation,  but  as  a  constraint  to  be 
avoided  as  long  as  it  is  safe*  But  those  who  have 
entered  upon  the  new  life  think  of  it  as  a  deliverance 
from  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  the  entrance  into  the 
freedom  wherewith  Christ  maketh  His  children  free.^ 

This  spirit  of  adoption  is  positive  not  negative.  It 
is  not  after  the  manner  of  those  who  are  always  say- 
ing, "  Thou  shalt  not."  The  new  spirit  raises  us 
above  the  old  desires  and  ways  of  life.     It  is  a  new 

1  Galatians  v.  i. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF  ADOPTION.  213 

affection.  It  leads,  but  it  does  not  compel.  It  is  a 
new  enthusiasm.  It  is  spontaneous  and  free.  It  is 
the  natural  result  of  the  new  relation  to  God.  Our 
Saviour  said  to  His  disciples :  "  No  longer  do  I  call 
you  servants ;  for  the  servant  knoweth  not  what  his 
Lord  doeth;  but  I  have  called  you  friends;  for  all 
things  that  I  heard  from  my  Father,  I  have  made 
known  unto  you."  ^  This  was  the  foundation  of  the 
new  society  which  Jesus  came  to  estabhsh,  —  this  new 
and  intimate  relation  between  His  disciples  and  Him- 
self If  any  one  really  understood  the  spirit  of  this  new 
society,  it  was  the  apostle  John,  '*  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved."  In  his  first  epistle  he  said,  "  Behold 
what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon 
us,  that  we  should  be  called  children  of  God."^ 
This  is  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  in  the  eighth  of 
Romans :  *'  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  these  are  sons  of  God."^  We  become  the  true 
children  of  God  when  we  are  led  by  His  Spirit. 

We  are  God's  children  7iot  by  birth  but  by  adoption. 
A  child  who  has  been  adopted  has  very  much  to  be 
thankful  for.  If  he  has  the  true  spirit  of  adoption,  his 
gratitude  will  lead  to  a  love  equal  to  that  of  one  who 
is  born  into  the  family.  This  is  what  St.  Paul  means 
when  he  says,  **  Ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of 
bondage  again  unto  fear,  but  ye  have  received  the 
spirit  of  adoption."  That  is  the  motive  for  a  true 
disciple,  —  the  gratitude  of  one  who  has  been  taken 
from  the  darkness  and  condemnation  of  sin,  and 
adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  made  an  heir  of 
God  and  a  joint  heir  with  Christ.  Paul  tells  us  what 
1  John  XV.  15.  2  I  John  iii.  i.  ^  Rom.  viii.  14. 


214  THE   SPIRIT   OF   ADOPTION. 

the  child  by  adoption  is  made  heir  to:  ''The  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed."^  No  Christian  needs  to 
be  told  how  great  this  is.  The  humblest  Christian 
on  this  earth  is  heir  to  a  blessing  that  is  infinitely 
greater  than  he  would  have  if  the  riches  of  the  world 
were  given  to  him.  So  that  this  adoption  is  the 
motive  for  his  life  of  devotion  and  of  service.  He 
has  no  need  to  go  back  to  the  spirit  of  bondage  unto 
fear.  His  Hfe  is  the  expression  of  gratitude  and  love 
for  the  infinite  gift  of  God. 

The  spirit  of  adoption,  according  to  the  text,  is  the 
spirit  that  leads  us  to  cry  Abba,  Father.  The  spirit 
of  adoption  is  the  spirit  which  inclines  us  to  apply 
this  personal,  endearing  name  to  God :  Abba,  the 
Father,  or  as  Luther  renders  it,  Dear  Father.  Of 
course  it  does  not  mean,  simply,  that  we  use  the 
name  but  that  we  have  the  feeling  that  leads  us  natu- 
rally, spontaneously,  to  think  and  speak  of  God  as  our 
Father.  Do  you  not  see  how  differently  a  man  will 
think  of  God,  who  knows  Him  only  as  the  Creator  of 
the  world,  or  the  Power  who  rules  the  world,  —  the 
"  Power  that  makes  for  righteousness,"  as  Matthew 
Arnold  used  to  say,  —  from  one  who  knows  Him  as 
his  dear  Father,  who  has  made  him  a  child  by 
adoption? 

II. 

We  are  next  to  inquire  Jiow  the  spirit  of  adoption 
zvill  show  itself  in  our  life  in  this  world. 

I.  First  of  all,  one  who  has  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father,  will  certainly  think  and 
^  Romans  viii.  i8. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   ADOPTION.  21 5 

speak  of  God  as  a  real  Being,  with  all  personal  affec- 
tions and  attributes.  His  affection  will  make  God 
very  real  to  him.  The  God  of  the  true  disciple  is 
much  more  than  the  God  of  the  philosopher.  The 
disciple  will  not  think  of  his  Father  as  a  mere  force 
or  power  that  keeps  the  world  in  order,  but  he  will 
think  of  Him  as  one  who  knows  him,  and  loves  him,  and 
takes  care  of  him  as  a  father  takes  care  of  his  child. 
This  is  the  difference  between  one  who  has  the  spirit 
of  adoption,  and  one  who  lives  in  the  spirit  of  bondage 
unto  fear.     David  said,  — 

"As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks, 
So  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God. 
My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God; 
When  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God  ? "  ^ 

Like  this  are  the  words  in  the  sixty-third  Psalm :  — 

"  O  God,  thou  art  my  God ;  early  will  I  seek  thee  : 
My  soul  thirsteth  for  thee,  my  flesh  longeth  for  thee, 
In  a  dry  and  weary  land,  where  no  water  is."  ^ 

In  the  seventeenth  Psalm  we  read,  — 

"  As  for  me,  I  shall  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness  : 
I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness."^ 

Such  addresses  to  God  abound  in  the  Psalms,  We 
have  nothing  in  the  Bible  that  goes  beyond  them,  un- 
less it  be  the  prayers  of  our  Saviour.  Not  long  ago, 
a  man  said  :  **  I  worship  God  as  the  Creator ;  that  is 
as  far  as  I  go."  It  is  plain  that  such  a  man  has  not 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  adoption.  His  cry  will  be : 
"  Almighty  and  Everlasting  God :  O  thou  Creator  of 
the  world."     You  perceive  how  far  away  that  is.     A 

1  Ps.  xlii.  1-2.  ^  Ps.  Ixiii.  i.  ^  Ps.  xvii.  15. 


2l6  THE   SPIRIT   OF  ADOPTION. 

child  of  God  will  call  Him  Father  naturally,  and  will 
think  of  Him  as  near.  But  one  who  has  the  spirit  of 
bondage  unto  fear  does  not  want  to  come  near  to 
God.  He  would  be  glad  if  God  would  not  come  near 
to  him.  He  will  be  quite  content  if  God  will  leave 
him  to  go  his  own  way.  But,  oh,  how  far  that  is 
from  the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry  Abba, 
Father. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  one  who  has  the  spirit  of 
adoption  ivill  ask  God  for  the  things  that  he  needs.  It 
would  be  very  strange  if  a  child  who  loved  and 
trusted  his  father  did  not  ask  him  for  the  things  he 
desired.  If  one  has  adopted  a  child  and  shown  his 
love  in  caring  for  him,  he  will  be  especially  pleased 
with  whatever  shows  that  the  child  has  confidence  in 
him.  To  ask  for  favors  is  as  natural  for  a  true  child 
as  to  breathe. 

So  that  if  God  is  our  Father  we  shall  pray.  If  we 
cannot  pray  with  the  assurance  that  God  will  answer 
our  prayers  in  His  wisdom  and  love,  then  God  is 
not  really  our  Father.  The  two  truths  meet.  If  God 
is  our  Father,  He  will  have  a  fatherly  interest  in  us, 
and  in  our  requests ;  and  if  we  have  the  true  filial 
spirit  we  shall  desire  to  ask  for  such  things  as  we 
need. 

In  the  light  of  this  intimate  relation  between  God 
and  His  children  by  adoption,  the  philosophical  objec- 
tions to  prayer  disappear.  Those  objections  rest 
upon  certain  views  of  the  laws  of  nature  which  leave 
no  room  for  God's  providence.  It  is  said  that  the 
Ruler  of  the  world  cannot  consistently  interfere  with 
the  laws  of  nature  which  He  has  established:  that 


THE   SPIRIT   OF  ADOPTION.  21/ 

rain  comes  from  natural  causes;  that  the  issue  of 
battles  depends  on  the  skill  and  courage  of  generals 
and  soldiers ;  that  the  victory  will  be  on  the  side  of 
the  heaviest  battalions,  and  of  the  best  strategy ;  that 
it  is  in  vain  to  ask  God  to  send  rain  in  a  time  of 
drought,  or  to  check  the  course  of  a  fever,  or  to  give 
the  victory  to  a  just  cause  in  a  military  campaign. 
In  a  word,  it  is  said  that  the  Creator  is  an  indifferent 
Spectator  of  the  contests  that  go  on  between  justice 
and  injustice,  between  right  and  wrong,  and  that 
He  will  never  interfere  with  the  regular  working  of 
the  vast  mechanism  of  the  universe. 

That  depends,  of  course,  upon  what  sort  of  a  Being 
God  is,  and  upon  what  purpose  the  created  universe 
is  designed  to  serve.  If  God  is  only  the  God  of 
nature,  and  if  nature  is  an  end  in  itself,  then  assuredly 
God  will  not  interfere  with  the  working  of  the  great 
machine.  But,  if  God  is  the  Almighty  Father,  and 
if  He  has  made  the  world  for  spiritual  beings,  and 
has  determined  that  all  things  shall  work  together  for 
their  good,  and  if  the  laws  of  nature  are  only  the 
expression  of  His  purposes,  then  it  is  the  most  nat- 
ural thing  in  the  world  for  the  Father  to  hasten  the 
coming  of  the  showers,  that  His  children  may 
have  bread ;  or  to  guide  the  physician  in  the  use  of 
remedies  that  will  help  the  sick  to  recover;  or  to 
send  a  tempest  to  destroy  the  Spanish  Armada,  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  His  people,  who  asked  Him 
to  protect  them  from  their  enemies.  If  God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  if  He  has  made  us  in  His  image,  and 
if  the  powers  of  this  world  are  the  instruments 
which   He   uses  to   secure   the   development  of  His 


2l8  THE   SPIRIT   OF  ADOPTION. 

children,  then  He  will  be  likely  to  be  moved — just 
as  a  wise  and  kind  father  is  always  moved  —  by  their 
requests. 

The  whole  tone  and  spirit  of  religion  will  depend 
upon  our  idea  of  God.  Those  who  think  of  Him  as 
only  the  God  of  law  and  retribution  must  needs  con- 
tinue in  the  spirit  of  bondage  unto  fear ;  while  those 
who  think  of  Him  as  the  God  of  love,  who  cares  even 
for  the  sparrows,  and  who  cares  much  more  for  us, 
who  hath  "  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked, 
but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live,"  ^  — 
these  will  have  the  spirit  of  adoption,  and  will  natu- 
rally say  Abba,  Father.  If  God  were  only  the  God 
of  nature  there  would  not  be  any  place  for  prayer; 
but  since  God  is  revealed  as  a  kind  and  gracious 
Father,  we  may  be  sure  He  will  watch  over  us  with  a 
Father's  love  and  care,  and  will  bend  His  ear  to  our 
requests.  Having  given  His  Son  to  redeem  us.  He 
will,  with  Him,  give  whatever  things  will  help  us 
towards  the  way  of  salvation. 

One  who  has  the  spirit  of  adoption  will  pray  habit- 
ually. He  will  desire  to  be  in  communion  with  God. 
Mere  selfishness  will  lead  one  to  pray  when  he  is  in 
danger,  but  the  spirit  of  adoption  will  lead  one  to 
enter  into  his  closet,  and  when  he  has  shut  the  door, 
to  pray  unto  the  Father,  who  seeth  in  secret.'^  The 
pious  Psalmist  said,  *'  Evening,  morning,  and  at  noon 
will  I  pray,"  ^  and  the  Apostle  said,  "  Pray  without 
ceasing;  in  everything  give  thanks,"^  and  our  Lord 
Himself  taught  that  we  *'  ought  always  to  pray  and 

1  Ezek.  xxxiii.  ii.  ^  Ps.lv,  17, 

2  Mat.  vi.  6.  *  I  Thes.  v.  17. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   ADOPTION.  219 

not  to  faint."  ^  An  earnest  disciple  will  seek  above 
all  things  to  live  near  to  God.  He  will  not  be  satis- 
fied to  come  now  and  then  into  the  presence  cham- 
ber. His  love  will  draw  him  into  sympathy  with  the 
Master.  He  will  try  to  free  himself  from  the  things 
that  displease  Him,  and  to  gain  the  things  that  will 
secure  His  approval.  The  more  we  have  of  love  for 
God,  the  more  earnestly  we  shall  seek  to  walk  worthy 
of  our  vocation. 

3.  In  the  next  place,  one  who  has  the  spirit  of  adop- 
tion will  try  to  do  the  will  of  God.  In  his  prayers  he 
will  say,  ''  not  my  will  but  thine  be  done."  ^  His  love 
for  the  Father  will  help  him  in  submitting  to  God's 
providences.  If  we  think  of  sorrow  as  a  punishment, 
our  hearts  will  sink  within  us.  But  we  gain  peace 
and  hope  from  the  truth  that  God  is  dealing  with  us 
as  with  sons,  and  that  all  His  chastisements  have  a 
merciful  purpose. 

So  our  love  for  God  will  find  expression  in  acts  of 
service.  It  is  the  love  of  God's  own  children  that  in- 
spires all  true  Christian  benevolence.  The  spirit  of 
bondage  unto  fear  has  power  to  secure  an  outward 
obedience.  It  has  been  sufficient  to  make  multitudes 
of  men  very  scrupulous  in  respect  to  the  forms  and 
ceremonies  of  religion.  It  has  kept  great  multitudes 
of  people  under  the  power  of  a  priesthood,  and  has  led 
to  the  regular  performance  of  pagan  rites  age  after  age. 
It  is  easy  to  drop  into  the  bondage  of  fear,  and  to  do 
our  duty  because  we  must.  But  the  gratitude  of  one 
who  is  a  child  of  God,  gives  a  value  to  our  religious 
acts  which  is  far  above  that  of  the  service  itself 

1  Luke  xviii.  i.  2  Mat.  xxvi.  39. 


220  THE   SPIRIT   OF   ADOPTION. 

As  soon  as  we  realize  that  we  can  do  something 
which  our  Lord  will  accept  as  a  token  of  our  love  we 
shall  be  swift  to  do  it.  After  all  needful  concessions 
have  been  made  in  respect  to  the  imperfections  of 
Christians,  it  remains  true,  that  through  all  these 
eighteen  centuries  of  Christian  history  there  has  been 
no  other  power  over  men  so  efficient  for  good  as  the 
power  of  Christian  love.  How  many  thousands  have 
delighted  to  spend  their  lives  in  the  service  of  Christ. 
How  wonderful  the  enterprises  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence. How  many  myriads  have  sealed  their  testi- 
mony with  their  blood. 

"  The  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  praise  Thee, 
The  noble  army  of  martyrs  praise  Thee, 
The  holy  Church  throughout  all  the  world  doth 
acknowledge  Thee." 

4.  The  spirit  of  Adoption  leads  to  a  life  of  faith  and 
trust.  This  faith  reveals  God  to  those  who  love  Him. 
It  brings  spiritual  things  near.  Knowledge  cannot 
do  that.  The  wisdom  of  this  world  cannot  compre- 
hend God,  for  **  the  world  through  its  wisdom  knew 
not  God."  ^  And  yet,  He  reveals  Himself  to  the 
humble  and  contrite  soul.  These  deepest  things  are 
spiritually  discerned,  and  faith  brings  us  into  commun- 
ion with  the  Father,  and  with  His  son  Jesus  Christ. 

This  faith  which  comes  with  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
also  leads  us  to  trust  the  future  in  the  hands  of  our 
Father.  We  cannot  see  our  way  before  us.  '*  We 
walk  by  faith  not  by  sight."  ^  God  gives  us  our 
bread  day  by  day,  and  He  gives  His  grace  only  when 
we  need  it.  There  are  many  times  when  we  cannot 
1  I  Cor.  i.  21.  2  2  Cor.  v.  7. 


THE   SPIRIT    OF  ADOPTION.  221 

see  our  way  before  us,  and  when  all  we  can  do  is  to 
commit  ourselves  to  the  care  of  the  All-Father,  not 
knowing  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  a  true  believer  to  trust  when  he  cannot  see,  saying, 
I  am  in  my  Father's  hands,  and  He  will  not  do  me 
any  real  harm. 

5.  Last  of  all,  the  spirit  of  adoption  gives  strength 
and  confidence  to  the  disciple.  *'  If  God  be  for  us, 
who  can  be  against  us."  ^  We  can  do  all  things 
through  him  who  strengtheneth  us.^  Our  faith  en- 
ables us  to  take  the  measure  of  the  unseen  powers 
that  are  enlisted  on  the  side  of  spiritual  religion.  We 
know  that  "  they  that  be  for  us  are  more  than  they 
that  be  against  us."  ^  Have  we  not  been  redeemed 
with  the  blood  of  Christ?  All  the  worth  of  the  atone- 
ment strengthens  our  confidence  that  the  work  of 
God  in  the  world  will  go  forward.  In  the  very  chap- 
ter which  contains  the  text,  we  are  led  to  consider 
some  of  the  deep  mysteries  in  the  counsels  of  God. 
We  have  been  "  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world."  *  "  For  whom  he  foreknew,  he  also 
foreordained  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His 
Son,  that  He  might  be  the  first-born  among  many 
brethren :  and  whom  he  foreordained,  them  he  also 
called ;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified  ;  and 
whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified.  What  then 
shall  we  say  to  these  things?  If  God  is  for  us,  who 
is  against  us?  "  ^ 

Dr.  Storrs,  in  one  of  his  magnificent  missionary 

1  Rom.  viii.  31.  ^  2  Kings  vi.  16. 

2  Phil.  iv.  13.  4  Eph.  i.  4. 

5  Rom.  viii.  29-31. 


222  THE   SPIRIT   OF  ADOPTION. 

addresses,  spoke  of  the  early  Christians  facing  the 
Roman  Empire,  "  putting  Scriptures  against  swords ; 
putting  narratives  and  letters  against  marshalled  le- 
gions ;  putting  oral  and  sacramental  teaching  against 
the  fiercest  and  haughtiest  power  the  world  had 
known.  But  by  their  work  they  changed  the  course 
of  history,  and  changed  the  face  of  the  earth."  The 
foundations  of  the  Christendom  of  to-day  '*  were 
laid  in  dust  and  blood  by  the  faith  and  fortitude,  and 
heroic  consecration  of  those  unnamed  Christian  mar- 
tyrs and  teachers  of  the  earliest  time.  Men  might 
laugh  at  it  then,  but  he  who  laughs  at  it  now  might 
as  well  laugh  at  the  shining  constellations  in  the 
heavens." 

It  sometimes  seems  to  us  too  much  to  believe,  and 
yet  it  is  the  most  certain  of  facts,  that  the  people  of 
God,  redeemed,  justified,  their  names  written  in  the 
Book  of  Life,  going  forth  in  faith,  to  do  the  work  of 
God  in  the  world,  have  behind  them  the  power  of 
God  and  angels.  They  are  able  to  win  souls.  They 
are  able  to  overcome  scepticism.  They  are  able  to 
bring  the  world  to  Christ. 

If  these  things  are  so,  let  us  no  longer  consent  to 
walk  in  bondage  to  fear.  Let  us  rather  live  in  the 
spirit  of  adoption,  coming  so  near  to  our  Father  that 
we  may  always  claim  His  promises,  and  may  be 
strengthened  by  His  Spirit.  How  great  the  work 
that  lies  close  to  us.  How  much  greater  the  work  in 
the  world.  But  our  Lord  has  said,  "  If  ye  abide  in 
me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye 
will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you."  ^ 

1  St.  John  XV.  7. 


XIV. 

MEN  AND   SPARROWS. 


XIV. 

MEN   AND   SPARROWS. 

Fear  not,  therefore:  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many 
sparrows. 

St.  Matthew  x.  31. 

Our  Lord  has  many  sayings  in  respect  to  value,  to 
profit  and  loss,  to  business  and  trade.  He  teaches  us 
to  compare  things  as  to  their  real  worth,  and  shows 
us  how  God  estimates  them.  "  How  much  is  a  man 
better  than  a  sheep,"  ^  He  says.  ''  Behold  the  birds 
of  the  heaven  .  .  .  your  Heavenly  Father  feedeth 
them.  Are  ye  not  of  much  more  value  than  they?  "^ 
''  Consider  the  liHes :  ...  if  God  doth  so  clothe  the 
grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is 
cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe 
you  ?  "  ^  "  Consider  the  ravens  .  .  .  God  feedeth  them  : 
of  how  much  more  value  are  ye  than  the  birds.""* 
He  teaches  us  that  we  are  likely  to  neglect  things  of 
greater  value  for  things  of  less  value.  "  Is  not  the 
life  more  than  the  food,  and  the  body  than  the  rai- 
ment? "  ^  Ye  should  not,  therefore,  make  it  the  great 
question  of  life  :  **  What  shall  we  eat?  or.  What  shall 
we  drink?  or.  Wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed."  ^    But 

1  St.  Matthew  xii.  12.  *  St.  Luke  xii.  24. 

2  St.  Matthew  vi.  26.  &  St.  Matthew  vi.  25. 

3  St.  Matthew  vi.  30.  ^  g^.  Matthew  vi.  31-33. 

15 


226  MEN  AND   SPARROWS. 

rather,  we  should  "  Seek  first  His  kingdom  and  His 
righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto "  us.  ^  He  warns  us  against  bad  investments. 
"  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the  earth 
where  motn  and  rust  doth  consume  and  where  thieves 
break  through  and  steal:  but  lay  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  in  heaven."  ^ 

He  places  the  spiritual  over  against  the  material 
when  He  inquires :  ''  What  doth  it  profit  a  man,  to 
gain  the  whole  world,  and  forfeit  his  life  ?  For  what 
should  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  life  ?  "  ^ 

,  The  Saviour  was  an  admirer  of  nature.  He  spoke 
of  the  beauty  of  the  flowers,  which  are  arrayed  as  not 
even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  arrayed.  He 
spoke  parables  of  fig  trees,  of  the  mustard  seed,  of 
the  wheat  and  the  tares.  He  knew  how  to  discern 
the  face  of  the  sky,  but  in  His  view,  man  was  more 
than  all  these,  so  that  He  went  about  doing  good  to 
men,  —  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  to  poor 
men,  and  ignorant  men,  and  sinful  men,  because  they 
were  men,  and  men  were  of  more  value  in  His  sight 
than  all  other  things. 

But  why  is  a  man  of  more  value  than  many  spar- 
rows? Why  did  the  Divine  Teacher  continually 
place  man  above  other  beings  on  the  earth?  What 
are  the  reasons  why  our  holy  religion  gives  to  man  a 
place  so  much  higher  than  other  religions  assign  him  ? 
Is  man  of  more  value  than  the  sparrows  because  he 
is  larger?  Take  a  thousand  sparrows,  or  a  million, 
and  do  they  come  any  nearer  an  equality  with  man 

J  St.  Matthew  vi.  33.  2  st.  Matthew  vi.  19-20. 

3  St.  Mark  viii.  36. 


MEN   AND    SPARROWS.  22/ 

than  one  sparrow?  Take  the  largest  animal  that 
lives,  and  is  not  a  man  of  more  value  than  that  ani- 
mal? Take  the  most  intelligent,  and  the  most  useful 
animals,  and  do  they  come  any  nearer  in  value  to 
man?  Compare  with  these  a  little  child  of  a  few 
weeks  old :  watch  the  first  gleam  of  intelligence,  the 
first  smile,  the  first  look  of  interest,  and  affection. 
Is  not  that  little  child  of  more  value  than  many  spar- 
rows? Go  to  the  last  little  grave  that  has  been  made 
in  the  cemetery,  and  see  the  flowers  that  have  been 
left  there  by  loving  hands.  Ask  the  mother  how 
much  that  little  one  was  worth  to  her.  Bring  her 
presents  to  make  up  her  loss.  Bring  her  singing 
birds,  bring  her  jewels  and  gold,  bring  her  what  you 
will,  and  would  she  not  give  it  all,  would  she  not  give 
all  the  world,  if  she  could  call  back  the  little  one 
which  God  has  taken?  Do  not  the  Scriptures  teach 
us  that  God  cares  for  these  httle  ones,  cares,  indeed, 
for  all  the  children  of  men,  as  He  does  not  care  for 
any  of  the  other  creatures  which  He  has  made  on 
this  earth? 


I  suppose  men  are  of  more  value  than  sparrows  07t 
account  of  their  origin.  God  made  man  after  His  own 
likeness,  so  that  he  is  continually  spoken  of  as  a  child 
of  God,  and  as  such,  fitted  to  enter  into  some  com- 
panionship with  God.  It  is  not  certain  that  we  un- 
derstand fully  the  method  by  which  God  made  man. 
It  may  be  that  the  processes  of  evolution  have  had 
something  to  do  in  the  formation  of  the  physical,  and 
even  the   intellectual   nature   of  man.     God   accom- 


228  MEN   AND    SPARROWS. 

plishes  some  of  His  greatest  works  by  processes  of 
growth  and  unfolding.  But  it  is  no  less  the  work  of 
God  because  it  is  an  evolution.  The  beginning  is 
certainly  from  God,  and  He  directs  the  development 
of  those  germs  of  Hfe  and  power  which  He  had  ori- 
ginated. So  that  it  is  still  true  that  "  God  created  man 
in  His  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created  He 
him;  male  and  female  created  He  them."  ^  God 
designed  man  to  "  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of 
the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the 
cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  creeping 
thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth."  ^  This  account 
of  the  origin  of  man,  as  a  partaker  of  the  divine  na- 
ture, and  the  destined  ruler  of  the  world,  is  wrought 
into  the  very  structure  of  the  Bible.  The  lower  ani- 
mal tribes  are  spoken  of  as  separate  from  man, — 
made  according  to  a  different  pattern,  and  for  a 
different  end.  The  Psalms,  for  example,  connect 
the  human  race  not  with  animals,  but  with  angels. 

"  Thou  hast  made  him  but  little  lower  than  the  angels,  [the 

Elohim] 
And  crownest  him  with  glory  and  honor. 
Thou  madest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  Thy 

hands ; 
Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet : 
All  sheep  and  oxen  : 
Yea  and  the  beasts  of  the  field ; 
The  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea, 
And  whatsoever  passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  seas. 
O  Lord,  our  Lord, 
How  excellent  is  Thy  name  in  all  the  earth." ^ 

1  Gen.  i.  27.  ^  Qen.  1.  26. 

8  Psalm  viii.  5-9. 


MEN  AND    SPARROWS.  229 

The  author  of  Ecclesiastes  says:  ''Behold,  this 
only  have  I  found,  that  God  made  man  upright ;  but 
they  have  sought  out  many  inventions."  ^  St  Paul  tells 
us  that  "  Man  is  the  image  and  glory  of  God,"  ^  that  he 
was  made  **  a  living  soul ;  "  ^  and  St.  James  says  plainly 
that  men  "  are  made  after  the  hkeness  of  God."  *  These 
statements  from  the  Older  Scriptures,  and  from  the 
latest  books,  are  entirely  consistent  with  each  other. 
They  all  teach  that  the  Creator  has  placed  something 
of  His  own  honor  upon  man,  and  that  He  cares  for  him 
as  He  does  not  care  for  the  lower  creatures. 

II. 

In  the  second  place,  ma7i  is  of  more  value  than  the 
animals  by  reason  of  his  capacities.  By  these,  he  is 
placed  over  against  nature,  as  a  being  not  only  intelli- 
gent, but  also  free  and  responsible.  His  rank  de- 
pends not  upon  his  lower  nature,  which  he  shares 
with  the  brutes,  but  upon  those  powers  which  dis- 
criminate him  from  them.  It  is  idle  to  try  to  deter- 
mine his  rank  by  a  study  of  his  bodily  structure 
alone.  Comparative  anatomy  may  teach  some  things 
concerning  man's  place  in  the  world,  but  the  science 
of  mind  will  teach  a  great  deal  more. 

One  test  of  value  is  use.  What  is  a  thing  good  for? 
Another  test  is  growth.  Will  the  thing  you  have 
become  more  than  it  Is?  One  tool  is  of  more  value 
than  another  because  it  answers  a  better  purpose. 
But  the  most  useful  tool  does  not  grow.  If  you  find 
growth,   there  is  hope   of  improvement.     The   seed 

1  Eccl.  vii.  29.  3  J  Q,ox.  XV.  45. 

2  I  Cor.  xi,  7.  *  St.  James  iii.  9. 


230  MEN  AND   SPARROWS. 

will  become  a  tree.  The  little  sparrow  in  the  nest 
will  grow  to  be  a  bird  of  flight  and  of  song.  Yet  it 
can  be  only  a  sparrow.  It  cannot  become  an  eagle, 
or  an  angel.  Its  growth  is  limited  by  the  law  of  its 
nature.  The  little  child  is  of  more  value  than  many 
sparrows  because  it  can  learn,  and  feel,  and  act  in  a 
free  way.  It  has  very  little  knowledge  now,  but  it  is 
able  to  gain  knowledge.  We  do  not  send  sparrows 
to  school.  I  think  it  is  Mr.  Darwin  who  says  that 
the  songs  of  birds  are  taught  them  by  older  birds ; 
but  it  is  more  likely  that  every  bird  has  an  aptitude 
for  its  own  song.  If  birds  can  learn,  it  is  only  a  few 
things.  We  admire  the  songs  they  give  us,  but  how 
limited  these  are  in  comparison  with  a  grand  anthem, 
or  an  oratorio.  They  are  builders  indeed,  after  a 
very  curious  fashion,  but  who  would  compare  the 
nests  that  sparrows  build,  with  the  palaces  and  cathe- 
drals that  men  have  built?  If  some  one  bird,  out  of 
all  the  birds  in  the  world,  finds  out  a  new  way  of  pro- 
tecting its  nest  in  a  difficult  place,  it  is  a  great  wonder 
to  us,  because  we  do  not  expect  birds  to  invent  any- 
thing, but  how  many  thousands  of  men  are  putting 
their  ideas  into  machines  every  year.  The  Patent 
Office  is  not  for  sparrows,  but  for  men.  Instinct 
works  with  exceeding  accuracy,  but  it  lacks  the  capa- 
city for  progress.  The  man  who  can  make  a  chair, 
or  build  a  house,  or  invent  an  engine,  or  calculate  an 
eclipse,  or  measure  the  distances  of  the  stars,  and  trace 
their  revolutions,  —  is  not  he  of  more  value  than 
many   sparrows? 

Still  more  plainly  do  tJie  sensibilities  of  meii  show 
how  great  they  are.     For  the  powers  of  feeling  are 


MEN  AND   SPARROWS.  23 1 

the  deepest  and  most  central  of  all  our  powers. 
People  are  apt  to  overestimate  the  sensibilities  of 
the  lower  creatures.  Some  appear  to  think  that  the 
attachment  of  an  animal  lor  its  young  is  like  that  of 
a  mother  for  her  child;  and  that  animals  suffer  as 
men  do  when  they  are  wounded,  or  when  they  die. 
But  there  is  good  reason  for  the  opinion  that  animals 
differ  from  men  as  much  in  the  capacity  for  suffering, 
and  in  the  strength  of  their  attachments,  as  in  the 
capacity  for  knowledge.  It  is  true  that  certain  kinds 
of  birds  are  paired  for  life,  and  that  they  show  a 
degree  of  attachment  for  each  other.  Yet  Mr.  Dar- 
win, the  eminent  naturalist,  has  collected  a  large 
number  of  facts  which  prove  that  if  one  bird  of  a 
pair  be  shot,  the  survivor  finds  a  new  mate  within 
a  few  hours.  He  tells  us  that  a  gentleman  in  Eng- 
land was  at  much  pains  to  test  this  matter.  He  shot 
a  bird  belonging  to  a  nest  near  his  house.  The  sur- 
viving bird  found  a  new  mate  directly.  Again  he 
shot  one  of  the  birds,  and  as  often  as  the  loss  was 
made  up  he  repeated  the  experiment,  until  he  had 
killed  thirty-five  birds  belonging  to  that  nest,  —  some- 
times the  male,  sometimes  the  female,  —  yet  in  each 
instance  the  loss  was  made  up  within  a  day  or  two, 
and  a  brood  of  young  birds  was  reared  from  the 
nest.  So  very  slight  are  the  attachments  that  spar- 
rows have ;  so  easily  are  they  comforted  in  their 
bereavements.^ 

It  takes  a  great  nature  to  be  capable  of  a  great  sor- 
row.    The  grief  of  King  David  for  the  death  of  his 
son   Absalom,    the    profound    sadness    that   is    ex- 
1  Darwin's  Descent  of  Man,  vol.  ii.  pp.  99-102. 


232  MEN  AND   SPARROWS. 

pressed  in  the  portraits  of  the  poet  Dante,  the  ter- 
rible energy  of  thought  and  of  speech  in  King  Lear, 
wrenching  his  whole  being,  convulsing  his  soul  from 
its  depths,  —  this  terrible  energy  of  passion  sug- 
gests to  us  the  capacity  for  suffering  which  a  human 
being  possesses.  The  remorse  of  Lady  Macbeth,  as, 
in  her  sleep,  she  sighs  and  moans  on  account  of  spots 
of  blood  on  her  hands,  —  visible  to  no  eyes  but  her 
own,  —  and  exclaims :  "  Here  's  the  smell  of  blood 
still,"  ^  reveals  a  power  of  suffering  which  suggests 
the  meaning  of  those  figurative  expressions  by  which 
the  Scriptures  set  forth  the  miseries  of  lost  souls. 

How  significant,  also,  are  those  human  sympathies 
that  are  born  with  us,  and  cherished  by  the  whole 
influence  of  our  Christian  Faith,  by  which,  notwith- 
standing the  roughness  and  selfishness  of  the  world, 
our  joys  are  multiplied,  and  our  sorrows  are  divided. 
No  sorrow,  or  loss,  or  pain,  comes  to  any  of  us  that 
does  not  touch  the  hearts  of  those  about  us.  We 
even  take  on  our  feeling  the  wants  of  those  we  have 
never  seen  or  known.  The  suffering  of  an  unknown 
man  touches  our  hearts.  Thus  all  the  world  is  kin. 
Nature  teaches  us  to  ''  bear  one  another's  burdens." 
A  famine  in  India  or  in  China  stirs  our  sympathies. 
The  sad  state  of  the  heathen,  in  their  darkness  and 
their  guilt,  starts  a  missionary  movement  that  will 
not  spend  itself  until  the  light  of  truth  has  been  car- 
ried to  all  the  families  of  the  earth. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  our  experiences  in  life 
give  more  light  as  to  our  capacity  for  sorrow  than 
for  joy.  Our  literature  is  fuller  in  its  delineation  of 
1  Macbeth,  Act  v.  Scene  i. 


MEN  AND    SPARROWS.  233 

human  grief  than  of  human  happiness,  and  in  this  it 
is  true  to  experience.  Still,  our  affections  are  the 
sources  of  true  and  permanent  joy.  Our  moral  na- 
ture, so  far  as  it  is  uncorrupted,  fits  us  for  happiness. 
These  Christian  homes  are  full  of  experiences  which 
make  them  suggestions  of  the  heavenly  home.  And, 
beyond  the  circles  that  are  illumined  by  the  spirit  of 
religion,  there  are  larger  circles  where  the  influence 
of  Christianity  is  felt,  in  which  pure  and  deep  affec- 
tions, and  high  moral  ends  of  Hfe,  show  how  much 
the  natural  man  is  capable  of.  The  very  fact  that  we 
are  able  to  form  conceptions  of  Heaven,  which  differ 
from  any,  even  the  highest  of  our  experiences,  indi- 
cates that  we  are  made  for  a  higher  Hfe  than  we  are 
yet  enjoying ;  for, 

"  Not  in  entire  forgetfulness, 
And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come, 
From  God  who  is  our  home."  ^ 

We  need  to  connect  this  capacity  for  joy  and  sor- 
row with  the  future  life.  The  earthly  home  is  not 
secure.  Sometimes  its  brightest  light  dies  away. 
Yet  how  happy  we  are  with  our  families  and  our 
friends  about  us.  How  much  happier  we  might  be 
if  there  were  no  pain,  or  sickness,  or  apprehension 
of  evil,  if  we  were  never  disappointed  or  bereaved. 
What  a  blessed  thing  it  would  be  if  we  could  call 
back  the  friends  who  have  departed,  —  the  loved  and 
unforgotten,  —  and  if  they  could  continue  with  us, 
without  fear  of  change,  while  the  blessed  years  should 
come  and  go,  especially  if  we  could  be  cured  of  our 
1  Wordsworth's  Ode,  Intimations  of  Immortality. 


234  MEN   AND   SPARROWS. 

faults,  and  they  could  be  cured  of  theirs,  so  that  there 
should  never  be  the  shadow  of  a  spot  upon  any  of  us. 
Yet  even  this  would  not  be  Heaven.  For  the  glory  of 
God  is  the  light  of  it.  I  shall  ''  be  satisfied  when  I 
awake  with  Thy  likeness."  ^ 

On  the  other  hand,  we  do  not  find  that  all  are  liv- 
ing good  lives.  There  are  too  many  who  are  giving 
themselves  up  to  evil.  They  are  becoming  worse 
instead  of  better.  When  the  end  comes  to  them, 
they  look  back  over  their  lives  with  little  satisfaction. 
They  go  out  of  the  world  lamenting  their  failure. 
The  consequences  of  sin  will  follow  them.  Remorse 
of  conscience  cannot  be  avoided.  All  these  experi- 
ences go  to  make  up  the  condition  of  a  lost  soul: 
unsatisfied,  self-condemned,  without  the  presence  and 
favor  of  God,  with  no  preparation  for  His  Kingdom. 
So  very  great  are  our  capacities  for  joy,  or  for  sorrow. 

III. 

In  the  third  place,  the  superior  worth  and  dignity 
of  man  will  appear  from  what  the  Bible  teaches  con- 
cerning the  work  of  Redemption. 

From  the  beginning  God  has  dealt  with  him  as  a 
being  capable  of  some  fellowship  with  Himself  All 
the  tribes  and  races  of  men  have  a  share  in  His  bless- 
ings. There  are  indications  in  all  parts  of  the  Old 
Testament  that  the  true  light  was  given  not  only  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  but  to  many  who  did  not 
belong  to  the  chosen  race.  Melchisedec,  king  of 
Salem,  priest  of  the  Most  High  God;   Job    in  the 

1  Psalms  xvii.  i6. 


MEN   AND    SPARROWS.  235 

land  of  Uz ;  Jethro,  the  priest  of  Midian ;  Balaam, 
the  son  of  Beor ;  the  Ninevites  who  repented  at  once 
at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  —  all  these  go  to  show  that 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  was  very  widely  dif- 
fused in  the  early  ages,  and  they  indicate  that  God 
had  a  special  care  for  all  the  nations  of  men.  In  the 
New  Testament  we  have  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East 
coming  to  Bethlehem  to  bring  royal  gifts  to  the  in- 
fant Redeemer.  Christ  teaches  that  the  love  and 
grace  of  God  are  for  all  the  world.  He  "  tasted 
death  for  every  man."  ^  He  commanded  His  dis- 
ciples to  "  go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  the  whole  creation."  ^  And  years  after  Jesus 
had  ascended  to  heaven,  St.  Peter  taught  that  '*  God 
is  no  respecter  of  persons :  but  in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  ac- 
ceptable to  Him."^  How  little  we  realize  the  meaning 
of  t/ie  cross  of  Christ  as  a  token  of  the  value  of  man. 
God  did  not  redeem  at  so  great  a  price,  a  race  that 
was  of  little  account.  He  understood  what  man  was 
capable  of,  and  He  saw  that  it  was  worth  while  to 
redeem  him  with  the  blood  of  the  only  begotten  Son. 
The  conditions  of  salvation  also  show  the  value 
which  God  places  upon  every  individual  of  our  race. 
The  gospel  is  offered  to  man  as  man,  —  not  to  the 
wisest,  or  to  the  purest  men,  but  to  all  men.  There 
was  a  great  contest  in  the  early  Church  between  the 
Jewish  Christians  and  the  Gentiles,  concerning  the 
conditions  of  salvation.  The  Jews  insisted  that  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses;   but  the  apos- 

1  Heb.  ii.  9.  2  st.  Mark  xyi.  15. 

3  Acts  X.  35. 


236  MEN   AND    SPARROWS. 

ties  taught  that  the  gospel  was  free  to  all,  whether 
Jews  or  Greeks,  "  barbarian,  Scythian,  bondman,  or 
freeman."  ^  For  the  least,  and  the  weakest,  has  a 
power  of  endless  life,  and  may  become  the  com- 
panion of  angels.  The  conditions  are  so  simple  and 
so  easy  that  no  one  need  be  excluded.  It  is  only  to 
ask  and  receive ;  to  ''  come  and  take  the  water  of  life 
freely."  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor,  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  ^ 

What  shall  we  say  also  oi  thQ  privilege  of  adoption? 
The  family  of  God  is  not  complete,  and  so  He  be- 
stows His  love  upon  us,  and  we  are  called  the  sons 
of  God.  "  It  is  not  yet  made  manifest  what  we  shall 
be.  But  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall 
be  Hke  Him :  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  ^  What 
present  evidence  does  He  give  us  of  our  title  to  the 
blessings  that  follow  this  adoption?  "The  Spirit 
Himself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are 
children  of  God."  *  He  manifests  Himself  unto  us 
as  He  does  not  unto  the  world.  We  have  access  to 
God  in  prayer,  and  we  have  answers  to  our  prayers, 
which  show  that  we  are  in  communication  with  God. 
Our  experiences  in  prayer  are  the  fresh  and  constant 
proofs  of  the  regard  which  God  has  for  men.  We 
may  send  our  petitions  before  the  highest  throne, 
and  the   Son  of  God  is  our  Orator  there. 

I  know  we  are  told,  in  what  President  Porter  called 
**  the  new  gospel  of  despair,"  that  God  cares  neither 
for  the  sparrows  nor  for  us,  and  that  it  is  absurd  to  ex- 
pect answers  to  our  prayers.    But  this  contradicts  not 

1  Col.  iii.  II.  2  I  John  iii.  2. 

2  St.  Matthew  xi.  28.  *  Romans  viii.  16. 


MEN  AND    SPARROWS.  23/ 

one  statement  only,  but  the  whole  tenor  of  the  Bible, 
and  discredits  the  most  emphatic  testimonies  of  the 
holiest  men.  Jesus  said,  "  If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my 
words  abide  in  you,  ask  whatsoever  ye  will,  and  it 
shall  be  done  unto  you."  ^  Is  there  anything  more 
sublime  than  prayer?  A  little  child  may  make  its 
wishes  known  to  God,  and  may  call  down  blessings 
upon  the  world.  Compared  with  this,  what  are  the 
things  that  are  done  in  the  cabinets  of  nations? 
What  stir,  think  you,  is  made  in  heaven  by  our 
business  affairs,  by  the  rise  and  fall  of  stocks,  by 
the  fortunes  of  empires?  But  you  and  I  may  send 
our  prayers  for  our  daily  bread  up  through  the  eter- 
nal solitudes,  and  secure  the  help  and  grace  we 
need. 

You  see  that  humble  Christian.  He  is  not  rich, 
or  famous,  or  learned.  But  his  name  is  written  in 
heaven.  Every  day  his  voice  is  heard  on  high.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  guiding  him.  He  may  have  little 
influence  in  this  world,  but  he  has  power  with  God, 
and  prevails.  There  is  a  mansion  prepared  for  him 
in  the  Father's  house.  Every  hour  is  bringing  him 
nearer  heaven.  Soon  he  will  tread  the  golden  streets. 
You  see  him  in  prosperity,  and  he  gives  thanks  to 
God.  You  see  him  in  adversity:  he  is  ''sorrowful, 
yet  always  rejoicing ;  poor,  yet  making  many  rich ; 
having  nothing,  yet  possessing  all  things."  ^  For 
him  "  to  Hve  is  Christ,  and  to  die  Is  gain."  Such  is 
man,  made  in  the  image,  and  after  the  likeness  of 
God.  "  How  noble  in  reason  !  How  infinite  in  facul- 
ties !    In  action,  how  like  an  angel !    In  apprehension, 

1  St.  John  XV.  7.  2  2  Corinthians  vi.  10. 


238  MEN  AND   SPARROWS. 

how  like  a  god  !  "  ^     Such  are  the  grand  possibilities 
of  those  whom  Christ  has  redeemed. 


1.  If  these  things  are  so,  let  us  have  no  fellowship 
with  the  pagan  notion  of  the  littleness  of  life.  Man  is 
not  a  part  of  nature,  bound  under  an  inexorable  law. 
Nor  is  his  Hfe  determined  by  a  blind  fatality.  He  is 
a  free  spirit,  and  may  claim  some  kindred  with  the 
skies.  He  was  made  to  rule  the  world.  He  may 
make  every  day  great,  every  action  important.  The 
sparrows  build  their  nests,  and  rear  their  young,  and 
sing  out  their  little  Hfe,  and  die,  and  make  no  sign. 
But  has  man  nothing  to  do  but  to  build  his  house, 
and  provide  for  his  family,  and  get  on  in  the  world  ? 
Is  that  the  whole  of  life,  —  to  breathe,  and  sing,  and 
die?  No  indeed,  God  has  put  too  much  of  His  honor 
upon  us.  He  has  paid  too  great  a  price  for  our  re- 
demption. He  knows  us  all  by  name.  He  numbers 
the  hairs  of  our  heads.  He  has  graven  us  upon  the 
palms  of  His  hands.  ''  He  that  spared  not  His  own 
Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He 
not  also  with  Him  freely  give  us  all  things?  "  ^ 

2.  Nor  should  we  say  that  any  life  is  of  necessity 
an  ignoble  life.  The  things  in  which  we  differ  are  the 
small  things.  Those  we  have  in  common  are  the 
great  things,  —  the  image  of  God,  the  love  of  Christ, 
the  offer  of  eternal  life.  God  has  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world,  and  base  things,  and  things  that 
are  despised.^     So  that  we  should  never  despise  our 

1  Hamlet,  Act  ii.  Scene  2.  ^  Romans  viii.  32. 

3  I  Corinthians  i.  27-28. 


MEN   AND   SPARROWS.  239 

birthright  because  it  seems  to   us  less  than  others 
have. 

3.  Nor  should  any  07ie  shrink  from  the  work  to 
which  he  is  called,  however  great  it  may  be.  He  who 
has  given  us  this  spiritual  being,  with  faculties  of 
thought,  imagination,  reason,  and  conscience,  and 
who  has  formed  the  plan  of  our  life,  assigning  to 
each  man  his  mission,  may  well  be  trusted  to  open 
the  way  for  us.  A  spiritual  man,  thus  richly  en- 
dowed, is  competent  for  all  things  to  which  God  will 
call  him.  We  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  who 
strengtheneth  us.  Moses  hesitated  when  he  com- 
prehended the  greatness  of  his  mission,  but  his 
strength  was  always  as  his  day.  How  many  others 
have  declined  the  work  for  which  God  designed  them 
because  it  was  so  great.  But  all  things  are  possible 
to  him  that  believeth.  The  world  has  seldom  the 
opportunity  to  know  how  much  a  single  consecrated 
life  can  accomplish  for  the  honor  of  God,  and  the 
relief  of  man's  estate. 


XV. 

THE   DANGER   AND   THE    SAFETY   OF 
YOUNG   MEN. 


i6 


XV. 

THE   DANGER  AND   THE   SAFETY  OF 
YOUNG   MEN. 

And  the  King  said,  Is  the  young  man  Absalom  safe  ? 

2  Samuel  xviii.  29. 

The  court  of  King  David  was  full  of  remarkable 
men,  but  no  one  of  them  had  a  more  striking  charac- 
ter than  Absalom,  his  third  son.  In  his  person,  he 
was  the  most  beautiful  young  man  of  the  nation. 
**  From  the  sole  of  his  foot,  even  to  the  crown  of  his 
head,  there  was  no  blemish  in  him."^  He  had  also 
great  abilities  for  business,  for  government,  and  for 
war.  The  influences  at  his  father's  court  were  fitted 
to  develop  all  his  powers.  In  that  court  Solomon 
acquired  his  unequalled  wisdom.  His  father's  Hfe 
furnished  an  example,  rarely  excelled  in  history,  of 
courage  and  vigor,  of  tender  poetic  grace,  and  of 
religious  faith. 

But  Absalom  threw  away  his  great  opportunities. 
He  gave  himself  up  to  ambition,  to  revenge,  and  in- 
trigue. He  formed  a  conspiracy  against  his  father, 
anticipating,  in  that  far  distant  time,  before  the  dawn 
of  secular  history,  the  arts  of  the  modern  political 
demagogue,  and,  when  his  plans  were  ripe,  he  raised 
the  standard  of  rebellion,  and  usurped  the  throne. 

1  2  Samuel  xiv.  25. 


244  THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

The  sacred  historian  has  drawn  a  touching  picture 
of  the  flight  of  the  grand  old  king.  "  And  David 
went  up  by  the  ascent  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and 
wept  as  he  went  up ;  and  he  had  his  head  covered, 
and  went  barefoot ;  and  all  the  people  that  were  with 
him,  covered  every  man  his  head,  and  they  went  up, 
weeping  as  they  went  up."  ^  The  outlines  of  the  pic- 
ture are  so  distinctly  drawn  that  we  can  almost  see 
the  great  king  of  Israel,  weeping,  and  barefoot,  flee- 
ing from  the  city  which  his  valor  had  conquered,  and 
his  munificence  had  adorned,  followed  by  the  small 
company  of  his  faithful  friends,  looking  back  in  sad- 
ness upon  the  homes  they  were  leaving.  It  was  the 
darkest  day  in  David's  life,  for  his  troubles  before 
had  come  from  his  enemies,  but  now  his  own  son,  in 
whom  his  soul  delighted,  had  risen  against  him. 

But  the  king  had  so  strong  a  hold  upon  the  hearts 
of  his  people,  that  they  rallied  in  his  defence,  and 
tidings  had  just  been  brought,  by  two  willing  messen- 
gers, that  the  power  of  the  rebellion  had  been  com- 
pletely broken.  This  relieved  his  anxieties  for  his 
kingdom,  and  at  once  the  feelings  of  the  father  came 
out  in  the  inquiry,  '*  Is  the  young  man  Absalom 
safe?" 

It  was  a  natural  question  for  the  father  to  ask.  He 
had  said  to  the  chief  captains,  "  Deal  gently  for  my 
sake  with  the  young  man,  even  with  Absalom,"  ^  but 
he  must  have  known  how  little  such  a  charge  was 
likely  to  avail  at  such  a  time.  He  knew  that  the 
crimes  of  his  son  had  planted  dangers  in  his  path. 
Such  a  man  is  never  safe.     The  rebelHon  against  his 

1  2  Samuel  xv.  30.  ^  2  Samuel  xviii.  5. 


THE   DANGER  AND    SAFETY   OF   YOUNG   MEN.      245 

father  was  the  result  of  the  murder  of  his  brother 
years  before ;  and  that  murder  came  from  the  re- 
vengeful spirit  which  he  had  cherished,  and  that  was 
connected  with  all  the  bad  passions  of  an  evil  heart. 
It  was  not  merely  because  he  was  encompassed  by 
enemies,  but  because  he  had  been  a  disobedient  son, 
a  disloyal  subject,  an  unprincipled  man;  a  rebel 
against  his  father,  and  his  king,  and  his  God.  He 
had  been  going  on  from  sin  to  greater  sin,  and  sin 
brings  danger,' and  leads  to  ruin.  There  is  no  place 
of  safety  for  such  a  man  as  Absalom. 

This  suggests  the  inquiry,  for  the  sake  of  which  I 
have  followed  the  history  thus  far,  concerning  the  dan- 
gers of  young  men.      When  is  a  yoimg  man  safe? 


I  begin  the  answer  by  saying,  that  the  dangers 
which  threaten  ns  from  the  outside  are  less  thaji  is 
commonly  supposed.  It  is  true"  we  are  in  danger  even 
from  the  operation  of  natural  laws.  If  you  walk  over 
the  edge  of  a  precipice,  you  will  be  dashed  to  pieces. 
If  you  venture  incautiously  under  an  overhanging 
cliff,  a  falling  stone  may  crush  you.  These  natural 
laws  have  no  element  of  mercy,  and  they  expose  us 
every  day  to  destruction.  In  this  view,  the  world 
seems  bristling  v/ith  dangers. 

We  are  exposed,  also,  to  temptation,  and  the  way 
of  evil  is  a  facile  way.  If  you  enfeeble  your  consti- 
tution by  excess,  you  wake  up  the  long  train  of 
diseases.  If  you  commit  crime,  there  is  an  officer 
watching  for  you  at  every  corner.     Yet  these  evils 


246  THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

are  not  necessary.  They  cannot  harm  us  except  by 
our  own  fault.  The  careful  man  is  in  no  danger  of 
stumbling  over  the  brink  of  a  precipice.  We  can 
walk  with  safety  amid  a  thousand  pitfalls.  Nor  has 
temptation  any  power  to  compel  us  to  go  wrong. 
The  officer  of  justice  is  not  a  terror  to  an  innocent 
man.  Words  of  calumny  cannot  blast  his  reputation, 
for  he  is 

"  armed  so  strong  in  honesty, 
That  they  pass  by  him  as  the  idle  wind. 
Which  he  respects  not."  ^ 

The  man  who  carefully  regards  the  laws  of  nature  is 
safe  from  the  greatest  number  of  physical  dangers ; 
the  man  of  established  principles  can  resist  tempta- 
tion;  and  he  who  carefully  regards  the  laws  of  justice 
and  of  truth,  can  walk  unharmed  among  the  officers 
of  the  law.  He  may  sleep  with  a  conscience  void  of 
offence,  even  as  David  slept,  on  the  night  after  his 
flight  from  Absalom,  of  which  he  has  written  in  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  his  Psalms :  — 

"  I  laid  me  down  and  slept ; 
I  awaked;  for  the  Lord  sustaineth  me."^ 

The  good  king,  lying  down  in  the  open  field,  under 
the  stars,  in  a  country  swarming  with  enemies,  slept 
as  peacefully  as  he  had  done  in  his  palace  of  cedar. 

Even  the  dangers  which  a  good  man  cannot  es- 
cape, —  and  there  are  some  evils  that  are  inevitable, 
—  are  blessings  in  disguise.  He  is  safe  even  though  he 
suffer.   His  principles  are  strengthened  by  resistance  to 

^  Shakespeare  Julius  Caesar,  Act  iv.  Scene  3.        ^  Psalms  iii.  5, 


THE  DANGER  AND   SAFETY   OF  YOUNG  MEN.      247 

temptation.  His  spiritual  life  is  refined  and  deepened. 
Even  death  is  gain  to  him.  So  that  we  are  not  to 
say,  "  Lo  here,  or  Lo  there,"'  as  though  our  chief  dan- 
gers were  from  the  outside.  The  kingdom  of  evil,  or 
the  kingdom  of  God,  is  within  us.  ^ 


11. 

The  real  dangers  of  yotmg  me7i  are  from  themselves. 
We  can  easily  see  why  this  is  so.  Every  appetite 
and  desire  is  liable  to  become  excessive.  "^^  The  most 
innocent  of  them  all  may  become  the  most  destruc- 
tive. The  appetite  for  food,  which  is  designed  to 
preserve  life,  may  become  so  excessive  as  to  destroy 
life.  The  craving  for  stimulant  is  very  likely  to  lead 
to  habits  of  intemperance,  and  intemperance  destroys 
more  lives  than  pestilence  and  war.  These  natural 
wants  are  all  blind.  They  are  continually  crying 
give,  give,  yet  to  gratify  them  beyond  the  proper 
limit  is  to  subject  ourselves  to  a  hopeless  bondage. 
The  vices  which  are  holding  the  degraded  in  bondage 
have  grown  out  of  appetites  and  desires  which,  in 
their  normal  working,  are  innocent  and  useful. 

-  The  desires  and  tastes  that  belong  to  our  intellectual 
nature  are.  subject  to  the  same  liabilities.  The  love  of 
enjoyment,  for  example,  is  certainly  innocent.  God 
made  us,  as  He  made  the  angels,  for  happiness  and 
heaven.  We  cannot  but  desire  that  which  pleases  us. 
But  what  if  a  young  man  should  seek  pleasure  as  the 
chief  object  of  life,  and  shun  the  duties  which  inter- 
fere with  the   present  enjoyment?     Will  he  not  be 

^  St.  Luke  xvii.  21. 


248   THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN 

likely  to  develop  the  weakest  and  most  worthless  of 
characters,  with  no  vigorous  power  to  resist  evil,  and 
no  preparation  for  the  serious  work  of  life? 

The  love  of  wealth  is  a  higher  and  a  more  healthful 
desire.  It  leads  to  habits  of  industry  and  economy. 
It  fills  our  homes  with  comforts.  It  is  adding  to  the 
national  wealth.  It  is  the  motive  to  commercial  en- 
terprise. It  covers  the  land  with  cities,  and  whitens 
the  sea  with  sails.  It  belts  the  continents  with  rail- 
ways, and  brings  to  every  hamlet  the  productions  of 
the  most  distant  zones.  It  leads  men  to  develop  the 
riches  hidden  in  the  earth,  and  to  explore  the  depths 
of  the  sea.  Take  away  the  love  of  gain,  and  you 
take  from  civilized  man  a  powerful  motive  to  exer- 
tion, and  you  set  society  back  towards  barbarism. 
There  are  great  nations  that  are  throwing  open  their 
ports  to  a  Christian  civilization,  through  the  influence 
of  commerce.  And  yet,  the  Bible  tells  us  that  ''  the 
love  of  money  is  a  root  of  all  kinds  of  evil."  ^  Why? 
Because  it  is  carried  to  excess.  Men  are  not  con- 
tent to  seek  gain  by  fair  means.  Hence  the  various 
forms  of  deception  and  fraud.  So  soon  as  the  love 
of  gain  becomes  excessive  it  is  perilous.  There  is 
danger  from  the  ill  will  of  those  we  injure,  and  from 
the  laws  we  violate.  There  is  still  more  danger  of 
blunting  our  moral  sensibilities,  and  hardening  our 
hearts.  And  we  are  overshadowed,  all  of  us,  by  the 
moral  government  of  God,  which  threatens  all  in- 
justice with  a  punishment  reaching  far  beyond  the 
present  life. 

Take,  as  another  illustration,  our  self-respect.    Each 

1  I  Tim.  vi.  10. 


THE   DANGER   AND   SAFETY   OF  YOUNG   MEN.      249 

man  is  a  separate  person,  with  his  own  interests,  and 
rights,  and  duties.  God  has  crowned  us  with  glory 
and  honor.  It  is  a  man's  duty  to  respect  himself,  to 
make  the  most  of  his  powers,  and  to  defend  his  lib- 
erty. But  how  easily  self-respect  becomes  pride,  and 
pride  represses  some  of  the  finest  tendencies  in  our 
nature.  It  becomes  the  great  obstacle  to  humiHty, 
to  repentance,  to  prayer.  It  holds  many  men  back 
from  the  cross  of  Christ.  It  is  the  besetting  sin  of 
noble  minds,  and  it  may  lead  them  to  spiritual  ruin 
as  surely  as  appetite  or  passion. 

Or  take,  if  you  please,  the  love  of  the  beautiful. 
This  is  a  natural  feeling.  God,  who  gave  us  taste, 
has  made  the  world  beautiful,  and  heaven  more  beau- 
tiful, that  our  whole  being  may  be  refined  by  the 
highest  forms  of  beauty.  And  yet,  no  one  of  our 
powers  is  more  in  need  of  control.  The  love  of  the 
beautiful  is  not  a  law  to  itself  The  cities  of  Italy 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  influence  of  fine  art  during 
the  middle  ages,  until  they  lost  the  more  robust  and 
manly  elements  of  character,  and  sunk  into  effeminate 
luxury.  The  ages  that  have  seen  the  finest  bloom  of 
art  have  been  barren  of  great  achievements.  Culti- 
vated men  are  going,  in  our  time,  from  all  lands,  to 
study  the  works  of  art  in  Italy,  but  the  people  who 
dwell  in  the  shadow  of  those  palaces  and  cathedrals 
are  not  vigorous,  or  brave,  or  virtuous.  It  is  noto- 
rious that  some  of  those  who  have  gained  a  very  high 
reputation  in  literature  have  been  persons  of  evil 
lives.  The  beautiful  must  be  strictly  subordinate  to 
the  good,  and  the  true,  or  it  leads  to  weakness  and  to 
sin. 


250  THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

Now  the  poi7it  of  these  illustrations  is  this  :  Our 
natural  and  innocent  tendencies  are  liable  to  abuse. 
The  appetite  for  food  may  make  us  gluttons.  The 
love  of  stimulants  may  make  us  drunkards.  The 
love  of  pleasure  may  debauch  us.  The  love  of  gain 
may  make  us  misers,  or  criminals.  Our  self-respect, 
our  love  of  liberty,  our  love  for  our  friends  and  kin- 
dred, may  lead  us  to  spurn  the  invitations  of  our 
Redeemer.  The  love  of  beautiful  things  may  over- 
shadow the  higher  elements  of  our  nature,  and  lead 
us  towards  luxury  and  corruption. 

Is  the  young  man  safe  ?  Can  he  be,  when  every 
appetite  may  become  a  passion,  every  desire  a  lust; 
when  every  natural  tendency  may  lead  towards  sin? 
You  have  stood  on  the  shore  of  the  sea,  and  watched 
the  coming  in  of  the  waves.  They  seem  to  be  mov- 
ing in  one  direction.  But  if  you  walk  out  into  the 
water,  you  presently  feel  the  undertow,  which  is  hur- 
rying the  water  back  towards  the  depths,  and  which 
is  likely  to  sweep  you  from  your  footing,  and  drown 
you  in  the  sea.  That  man  must  be  strangely  ignorant 
of  his  own  nature,  as  well  as  of  his  fellow-men,  who 
does  not  know  that  there  is  a  treacherous  undertow, 
which  threatens  us  with  ruin. 

A  young  man  grows  up  in  a  Christian  home,  and 
appears  to  be  a  truthful  and  honest  man.  But  that 
is  only  the  surface,  —  the  waves  coming  in  beautifully 
upon  the  beach.  Who  knows  what  is  going  on  in  the 
heart  of  that  youth,  what  influences  may  be  under- 
mining his  principles?  Who  can  tell  about  the 
undertow?  A  confidential  clerk  at  a  bank  maintains 
his  integrity  for  years,  but  his  social  affections,  his 


THE   DANGER  AND   SAFETY   OF  YOUNG   MEN.      25 1 

tastes,  his  personal  ambitions  lead  him  into  extrav- 
agances. He  uses  the  funds  of  the  bank  for  his 
pleasures,  or  his  speculations,  or  his  vices;  and  by 
and  by  the  city  is  startled  by  the  discovery  of  his 
crime,  and  he  becomes  a  fugitive  from  justice,  or  is 
locked  in  a  felon's  cell. 

Another  grows  up  in  a  home  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment, encompassed  by  the  influence  of  his  sisters, 
breathing,  all  the  years  of  his  childhood  and  youth, 
the  atmosphere  of  love,  trained  by  the  most  up- 
right of  fathers  in  habits  of  integrity.  His  friends 
expect,  with  good  reason,  that  his  heart  will  always 
be  the  home  of  pure  affections,  that  he  will  do  honor 
to  the  family  name,  and  will  have  a  prosperous  career. 
But  watch  the  undertow.  There  may  be  the  seeds  of 
vice  in  his  nature.  There  are  slumbering  passions. 
There  are  tendencies  that  lead  towards  ruin,  —  tenden- 
cies born  of  the  very  rank  in  life  to  which  he  belongs. 
Perhaps  the  wave  will  bear  that  young  man  high  up 
on  the  beautiful  shore.  It  may  be  the  undertow  will 
carry  him  out  into  the  dark  waters,  and  he  will  be 
lost. 

We  see  men  only  on  the  surface.  But  we  do  not 
see  what  are  their  secret  thoughts  and  motives.  Aye, 
what  passions  sometimes  stir  our  own  souls.  How 
often  there  is  envy,  revenge,  and  hatred  within  us. 
Our  Saviour  knew  what  was  in  man  when  He  said, 
"  Out  of  the  heart  come  forth  evil  thoughts,  murders, 
adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness,  railings."  ^ 
If  any  man  be  disposed  to  speak  without  compassion 
of  those  who  have  fallen,   let  him  remember  what 

^  St.  Mark  vii.  21, 


252   THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

thoughts  come  up  sometimes  from  the  depths  of  his 
own  nature,  and  consider  what  he  might  have  done  in 
an  hour  of  weakness  and  of  temptation.  An  hour  of 
serious  self-inspection  will  make  us  more  charitable 
to  those  who  have  fallen. 


III. 

These  are  our  perils.  In  view  of  such  things  as 
these,  let  us  go  back  to  the  inquiry :  When  is  a  yoimg 
man  safe?  And  inasmuch  as  our  chief  dangers  are 
from  ourselves,  it  is  plain  that  no  outward  protection 
can  be  of  much  avail.  We  are  apt  to  charge  our  sins 
to  circumstances :  to  evil  companions,  the  wicked 
city,  the  bad  world.  But,  if  we  are  truly  free,  —  and 
our  own  consciousness  assures  us  that  we  are,  —  we 
cannot  lay  the  blame  upon  any  one  but  ourselves. 
Evil  has  no  power  over  us  except  such  as  we  give  it. 
The  spark  will  fall  harmless  if  it  does  not  find  the 
tinder  already  prepared.  That  which  is  a  strong 
temptation  to  one  man  does  not  tempt  his  neighbor. 
If  we  go  to  the  root  of  the  matter,  temptation  has 
just  as  much  power  over  us  as  we  give  it,  and  no 
more.  It  is  well  to  remove  temptations  from  young 
men,  so  far  as  we  can,  but  that  will  not  make  them 
safe.  For  the  chief  perils  are  such  as  they  carry  in 
their  own  hearts.  If  we  can  make  the  fountain  pure, 
it  will  send  forth  pure  waters  even  in  a  bad  world. 
How,  then,  shall  we  reach  the  source  of  evil?  That 
is  the  real  question. 

The  true  answer  is  not  far  to  seek.  We  have  two 
classes  of  powers:   the  one  lower,  the  other  higher; 


THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN.   253 

the  one  sensuous,  the  other  rational.  The  lower 
powers  do  not  limit  themselves.  Appetite  is  never 
satisfied.  So  it  is  with  passion.  So  with  the  love  of 
pleasure,  of  wealth,  of  honor,  and  power.  It  is  in 
these  unlimited  tendencies  that  our  danger  lies.  The 
ship  is  out  upon  the  deep  with  its  rich  cargo,  driven 
by  the  winds,  ready  for  a  successful  voyage,  —  but  it 
needs  a  rudder,  and  a  pilot.  The  steam  is  up,  and 
the  locomotive  is  moving,  but  who  is  to  regulate  its 
motion?  Man  with  his  appetites  and  his  passions  is 
like  that  ship,  —  like  that  engine.  Unless  he  can  rule 
his  desires  and  passions,  the  ship  will  be  wrecked, 
the  engine  will  only  destroy.  Is  the  young  man 
safe?  Never,  until  he  is  able  to  rule  his  own  spirit. 
Surround  him  with  outward  restraints,  and  he  will 
complain  that  you  have  taken  away  his  liberty. 
Remove  evil  companions,  and  you  only  put  the 
danger  a  little   further   away. 

But  above  these  sensuous  desires  and  passions  we 
have,  all  of  us,  a  higher  nature.  We  have  a  con- 
science, which  gives  us  the  idea  of  right,  and  impels 
us  to  do  the  right.  So  that  we  are  able  to  examine 
these  impulses  that  come  from  our  nature,  and  deter- 
mine how  far  it  is  right  to  gratify  them.  Every  man 
has  also  a  free  will,  by  which  he  is  able  to  control  his 
passions.  This  higher  nature  was  given  to  rule  the 
lower,  under  the  guidance  of  intelligence.  When  the 
spiritual  powers  control  those  that  are  sensuous,  man 
is  safe;  never  till  then.  Whoever  is  following  his 
impulses,  his  appetites,  or  his  passions,  his  loves, 
or  his  hates,  his  hopes,  or  his  fears  simply,  is  in 
peril.     For  these  are  all  blind. 


254  THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

A  young  man  begins  to  be  safe  when  he  learns  to 
control  his  impulses,  and  his  desires,  according  to 
a  law  of  duty.  If  King  David  had  carefully  cultivated 
the  conscience  of  his  son  when  he  was  a  child,  and 
accustomed  him  to  do  the  little  things  which  every 
child  does,  from  the  sense  of  right  which  every  child 
has,  —  if  he  had  accustomed  him  to  control  his  pas- 
sions, and  to  strengthen  his  moral  nature  by  the  habit 
of  doing  right,  because  it  is  right,  he  would  have  been 
preparing  him  for  a  virtuous  life.  The  good  man  is 
the  man  who  follows  intelligently  the  monitions  of 
his  conscience. 

The  safety  of  young  men  depends  upon  two  things. 

(i)  They  must  develop  and  cultivate  their  moral 
nature.  They  must  form  the  habit  of  acting  in  view 
of  moral  considerations.  They  must  make  no  com- 
promise with  conscience,  and  hold  no  parley  with  sin. 
They  must  not  permit  themselves  to  balance  the  right 
against  any  considerations  of  inclination,  or  of  inter- 
est. They  must  dare  to  do  right  though  the  heavens 
fall.     If  a  man's  virtue  has  its  price,  he  has  no  virtue. 

We  cannot  destroy  our  appetites  and  our  passions 
if  we  would.  We  ought  not  to  do  it  if  we  could. 
These  dangerous  elements  are  the  active  forces  in  our 
nature.  They  are  like  the  steam  that  drives  the  en- 
gine. A  man's  effective  power  depends,  in  great  part, 
upon  the  strength  of  his  sensuous  nature.  These  pas- 
sions will  be  always  active,  watching  their  opportu- 
nity, and  clamoring  for  gratification.  It  is  for  us  to 
rule  them,  in  the  light  of  duty,  according  to  the  law 
of  God.  We  must  eat,  but  not  too  much.  We  must 
seek  knowledge,  and  influence,  and  wealth,  and  power, 


THE   DANGER  AND   SAFETY   OF   YOUNG   MEN.      255 

yet  we  must  so  seek  them  as  to  use,  and  not  abuse 
them.  We  must  be  temperate  in  eating,  and  in 
drinking;  in  working,  and  in  playing;  in  our  joys, 
and  in  the  indulgence  of  our  griefs;  temperate  in 
all  things ;  temperate  in  our  temperance,  adding  to 
temperance  patience,  and  to  patience  godHness,  and 
to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly 
kindness  charity.^  Practical  religion  consists  in  fol- 
lowing the  sense  of  duty,  doing  justly,  loving  mercy, 
and  walking  humbly  before  God.^ 

But  there  is  no  permanent  safety  unless  we  follow 
the  sense  of  duty  honestly  and  fully.  If  a  young 
man  tries  to  do  his  duty  to  his  fellow-men,  while  he 
neglects  his  duty  to  God,  he  will  debauch  his  con- 
science. There  are  some  who  are  living  divided 
lives.  They  restrain  their  appetites,  but  they  do  not 
pray.  They  deal  honestly  with  men,  but  not  with 
God.  They  recognize  their  obligations  to  their 
neighbors,  but  they  ignore  their  obligations  to  the 
Father  in  Heaven.  They  love  their  friends,  but  not 
their  Saviour.  They  are  dealing  justly,  perhaps,  and 
loving  mercy,  but  they  are  not  walking  humbly  before 
God. 

How  many  young  men  confess  that  they  know  it  is 
their  duty  to  lead  Christian  lives ;  and  by  neglecting 
this  highest  duty,  they  are  hardening  their  hearts, 
and  dulling  their  moral  sensibihties.  "  Wherewithal 
shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way?  By  taking  heed 
thereto  according  to  thy  word."  ^  We  have  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures  the  guide  for  our  lives.     They  reveal 

1  2  Peter  i.  6-7.  2  Micah  vi.  8. 

3  Psalms  cxix.  9. 


256  THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

more  fully  the  path  of  duty  to  which  our  consciences 
are  pointing  us.  The  more  carefully  we  study  them, 
the  more  we  shall  know  of  a  true  life,  and  the  more 
carefully  we  follow  their  teachings,  the  nearer  we 
shall  come  to  the  highest  type  of  manhood. 

(2)  But  this  is  only  one  part  of  the  answer  to  the 
great  question.  We  say,  let  a  man  follow  his  con- 
science. Let  him  follow  the  Bible.  It  will  guide 
him  in  the  way  of  eternal  life.  BiU  is  that  enough  ? 
Alas,  we  are  weak  and  sinful,  and  passion  is  always 
moving  us,  and  when  we  would  do  good,  evil  is  pres- 
ent with  us.  If  we  have  a  Father  in  Heaven,  who 
cares  for  us,  will  He  leave  us  to  fight  the  battle  alone? 
When  we  are  so  weak,  and  so  sorely  tempted,  will 
He  not  lend  us  His  aid?  Must  it  not  be  that  the 
Infinite  Goodness  and  Love  will  seek  and  save  the 
lost?  The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  help  which 
God  gives  to  man  struggling  to  escape  from  the 
power  of  evil.  First  He  sends  the  well-beloved  Son, 
to  remove  the  obstacles  to  our  salvation.  Then  He 
sends  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  renew  our  hearts,  and  to 
strengthen  our  best  purposes. 

Is  the  young  man  safe,  —  even  in  this  world  ?  Not 
until  he  rules  himself  Not  until  he  follows  his  con- 
science, and  makes  the  Bible  his  rule  of  life.  Is  he 
safe  then?  By  no  means,  for  his  strength  is  perfect 
weakness.  He  is  not  safe  until  the  Almighty  has  put 
His  arm  about  him  and  given  him  strength.  With 
this  divine  help  there  is  safety.  Those  whom  the 
Lord  has  taken  under  His  protection  shall  never 
perish.  Our  salvation,  therefore,  depends  partly 
upon  ourselves,  and  partly  upon  our  divine  Friend. 


THE  DANGER  AND  SAFETY  OF  YOUNG  MEN.   257 

We   shall    be   saved    by  following   conscience,    and 
trusting    God. 


True  religion  is  not  fanaticism.  It  is  not  some- 
thing that  comes  to  us  without  any  agency  of  our 
own,  like  the  dew  and  the  rain.  Religion  is  duty. 
And  whoever  tries  to  do  his  duty  will  find  that  he  is 
weak  and  sinful,  that  he  needs  a  Saviour's  blood  to 
cleanse  him  from  guilt,  and  the  spirit  of  God  to  form 
his  heart  anew.  The  invitation  of  the  gospel  is 
addressed  to  just  this  sense  of  need.  ''  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn 
of  me;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of  heart:  and  ye 
shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy, 
and  my  burden  is  light."  ^ 

Would  you,  then,  be  safe,  amid  the  storms  of  pas- 
sion, and  the  temptations  of  life  ?  There  is  no  safety 
for  any  one  of  us  until  he  has  made  the  promises  of 
God  his  own,  until  he  has  Christ  for  his  Saviour 
and  his  never-failing  Friend.  Away  from  Christ,  no 
man  is  safe  for  an  hour.  Shall  we  not  heed  His 
gracious  invitation,  for  He  has  loved  us  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,^  and,  because  He  loved  us,  has 
come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.^ 

1  St.  Matthew  xi.  28-30.  2  Rom.  v.  8. 

2  St.  Luke  xix.  10. 


17 


XVI. 

HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE 
PENITENT. 


XVI. 

HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE 
PENITENT. 

Likewise y  I  say  unto  you.  There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of 
the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth, 

St.  Luke  xv.  io. 

This  word,  "  likewise,"  connects  this  saying  of  our 
Lord  with  what  had  gone  before.  He  was  reasoning, 
as  He  often  did,  from  things  that  are  earthly  to  things 
that  are  heavenly.  He  was  trying  to  show  what  is  in 
the  heart  of  God,  by  reminding  men  of  what  is  in  their 
own  hearts.  He  would  help  them  understand  how 
God  feels,  by  appealing  to  their  own  natural  feeHngs. 
If  He  had  not  taught  us  to  do  this  we  should  not 
have  dared  to  do  it,  but  inasmuch  as  Christ  has  taught 
us  to  reason  from  our  natural  feeHngs  and  moral  in- 
stincts, to  the  feelings  and  moral  instincts  of  God,  we 
are  bound  to  follow  His  leading.  Let  us  be  sure  we 
do  not  go  beyond  His  leading,  and  that  we  follow 
Him  reverently  and  closely. 

The  Pharisees  and  scribes  had  their  own  idea  of 
God,  and  they  complained  because  Jesus  was  receiv- 
ing sinners,  and  was  eating  with  them.  That  com- 
plaint of  theirs  involved  an  idea  of  God  which  would 
leave  no  hope  for  sinful  men.  Towards  the  end  of 
His  ministry  Jesus  spoke   three  parables  to  change 


262      HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PENITENT. 

that  old  idea  of  God.  These  parables  follow  very 
common  lines  of  thought,  but  no  one  can  tell  how 
much  we  have  learned  from  them  of  the  relations  we 
sustain  to  God,  and  He  to  us. 

Jesus  says,  a  man  who  has  a  hundred  sheep  will 
care  for  all  of  them ;  but  if  any  one  of  them  should 
wander  away  and  be  lost,  he  would,  for  the  time,  care 
more  for  that  sheep  than  for  all  the  rest;  and  he 
would  go  after  it,  until  he  had  found  it;  and  when  he 
had  found  it  he  would  bring  it  back  again  with  joy. 

Or,  if  a  person  should  lose  a  piece  of  money,  he 
would  seek  for  it  very  carefully,  and  when  he  had 
found  it,  he  would  have  more  joy  over  that  coin, 
which  he  had  found  by  searching  for  it,  than  over 
many  other  coins  that  had  never  been  lost.  Some- 
how, we  value  a  thing  in  proportion  to  what  it  has 
cost  us. 

If  this  be  the  natural  feeling  of  men,  in  respect  to 
a  lost  sheep,  or  a  lost  piece  of  silver,  how  much 
more  will  it  be  so  with  respect  to  a  lost  son.  A  cer- 
tain man  had  two  sons.  He  loved  them  both.  The 
younger  son  went  away  into  a  far  country.  He  would 
not  be  controlled.  He  became  a  spendthrift  and  a 
profligate.  He  was  a  lost  boy,  to  his  father.  In  the 
strong  words  of  the  parable,  he  was  dead  to  his 
father.  But  his  father  continued  to  love  his  younger 
son,  —  to  love  him,  perhaps,  even  more  because  he 
was  lost.  So  that  when  the  son  came  back  with 
repentance,  and  confession,  the  father  received  him, 
and  welcomed  him  with  joy.  He  brought  forth  the 
best  robe  and  put  it  on  him,  and  put  a  ring  on  his 
hand,  and  shoes  on  his  feet;    and  called  on  all  his 


HEAVEN  IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE   PENITENT.      263 

friends  to  rejoice  and  be  glad,  because  the  lost  was 
found,  and  the  dead  was  alive  again. 

This  is  very  simple  and  natural,  but  we  should  not 
have  applied  these  illustrations  to  the  method  of  God 
with  men  if  it  had  not  been  for  these  teachings  of 
Jesus.  It  has  not  been  the  common  tendency  of 
men  to  reason  in  this  way  of  God's  feelings  towards 
the  sinful.  Partly  because  men  have  felt  unworthy  of 
God's  love,  and  partly  because  they  have  thought 
more  of  God's  power  than  of  His  fatherhood,  they 
have  taken  it  for  granted  that  He  would  not  forgive 
their  sins  unless  they  could  make  up  to  Him  for  the 
wrong  they  had  done,  by  some  gifts  or  sufferings  of 
their  own.  Look  where  you  will,  among  Jews  or 
Gentiles,  you  will  find  it  taken  for  granted  that  it  is 
not  easy  for  God  to  forgive  sin.  It  is  only  in  the 
teachings  of  our  Saviour  that  we  learn  that  He  loved 
us  while  we  were  yet  sinners ;  and  that  His  love  led 
Him  to  seek  for  the  lost;  and  that  He  welcomes 
them  when  they  come  back  to  Him.  All  this  good 
news  rests  simply  upon  the  word  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
who  proclaimed  it,  not  in  one  place  only,  but  in  all 
places,  and  at  all  times,  making  it  the  great  idea  of 
His  ministry  to  men.  As  men  rejoice  when  the  lost 
is  found,  as  a  father  is  glad  when  his  prodigal  comes 
back,  likewise  (that  word  likewise  draws  after  it  the 
whole  gospel),  likewise  joy  shall  be  hi  Heaven  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more  thaji  over  ninety  and 
nine  just  persons  that  need  no  repentance. 

We  have  a  group  of  divine  truths  here  which  we 
shall  do  well  to  consider. 


264      HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PENITENT. 


I. 

The  first  is  this :  The  law  of  sympathy  is  the  law  of 
the  universe.  Modern  science  has  taught  us  that  the 
worlds  are  bound  together ;  that  every  part  is  related 
to  the  other  parts ;  every  star,  whether  near  or  re- 
mote, is  attracted,  and  is  attracting  every  other  star ; 
there  is  no  part  of  the  works  of  God  that  is  isolated ; 
no  part  left  out  from  the  sweep  of  the  general 
laws ;   no  part  forgotten  or  alone. 

So,  the  gospel  teaches  that  there  are  bonds  of  sym- 
pathy which  link  together  all  the  intelligent  beings  of 
the  universe,  so  that  the  world  of  mind  is  one  world. 
Man  is  made  in  the  image,  and  after  the  likeness  of 
God,  —  made,  also,  a  little  lower  than  the  angels ;  so 
that  God  loves  the  world  and  seeks  to  redeem  it;  and 
the  Son  of  God  came  "  to  seek  and  save  the  lost," 
and  the  angels  rejoice  when  sinners  come  to  repent- 
ance. They  are  all  **  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to 
minister  unto  the  heirs  of  salvation,"  ^  and  even  the 
least  and  smallest  are  under  the  care  of  the  angels, 
who  always  behold  the  face  of  the  Father,  who  is  in 
Heaven.^  So  that  the  law  of  sympathy  makes  us 
one  family  on  earth  and  in  Heaven.^  I  do  not  see 
how  there  can  be  a  soul  in  God's  universe  utterly 
alone,  any  more  than  there  can  be  a  star  outside  the 
reach  of  those  forces  and  laws  that  environ  the  uni- 
verse. If  the  angels  rejoice  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth,  then  the  angels  must  know  about  that  one 

1  Hebrews  i.  14.  2  cjj-  Matthew  xviii.  10. 

3  Ephesians  iii.  15. 


HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PENITENT.      265 

sinner ;  then  there  is  some  means  of  communication 
between  earth  and  heaven,  and  that  communication 
must  be  always  open,  for  there  are,  every  day,  some 
sinners  coming  to  repentance.  We  are  not  to  think 
of  the  universe  of  God  as  a  mere  system  of  natural 
forces  and  laws,  but  as  the  great  dwelling-place  which 
God  has  provided  for  beings  who  share  His  image  and 
likeness,  who  are  the  objects  of  His  love  and  care, 
and  who  Hve  in  open  view  of  angels  and  ministers  of 
grace. 

There  is  a  little  island  in  the  midst  of  the  great  sea, 
on  which  a  few  people  are  dwelling.  They  have  no 
knowledge  of  any  other  land,  or  tribe  of  men.  Their 
range  is  limited  by  their  own  shores.  If  they  learn 
to  venture  out  a  little  way  upon  the  sea,  they  cannot 
get  sight  of  any  other  land.  Their  island  home  is  all 
the  world  to  them.  But  in  the  course  of  time  a  ship 
arrives  from  the  continent,  and  the  islanders  see 
people  of  the  same  race,  with  the  same  powers  and 
wants;  and  they  learn  that  far  over  the  deep  there 
are  other  tribes  and  nations.  There  is  a  great  broth- 
erhood of  mankind.  The  ship,  which  has  come  to 
them,  has  brought  them  into  connection  with  this 
great  brotherhood;  and  not  only  so,  the  ship  has 
brought  them  helps  and  comforts,  of  which  they  had 
never  dreamed.  It  has  brought  them  the  arts  of  life. 
It  begins  among  them  the  process  of  civilization,  and 
opens  the  way  for  an  indefinite  improvement. 

So  the  people  of  this  earth  look  out  into  space, 
and  wonder  if  there  are  other  worlds  and  other  races 
of  beings.  They  inquire  whence  they  have  come, 
and  whither  they  are  going ;   but  they  find  no  certain 


266      HEAVEN  IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE   PENITENT. 

answer.  But  to  these,  thus  limited  and  darkened, 
there  come  messengers  from  other  worlds,  voices 
from  beings  not  of  their  own  race.  They  learn  that 
the  earth  had  a  beginning,  and  that  it  has  a  pur- 
pose in  the  plan  of  its  Creator;  that  He  has  made 
them ;  that  He  loves  them ;  that  He  is  their  Father ; 
and  that  He  is  causing  all  things  to  work  for  their 
good. 

How  this  revelation  will  change  all  things  to  them. 
They  are  still  weak,  and  dependent,  but  they  can 
lean  upon  an  Almighty  arm.  They  are  encircled  by 
the  evidences  of  infinite  love.  They  are  the  objects 
of  divine  compassion,  and  are  comforted  by  exceed- 
ing great  and  precious  promises.  God  loves  them, 
although  they  are  sinful.  The  well-beloved  Son  of 
God  has  died  for  them.  The  angels  of  God  rejoice 
when  they  repent.  There  is  assuredly  hope  for  them, 
and  it  will  be  their  own  fault  if  they  do  not  find 
salvation. 

.  The  law  of  sympathy  is  the  law  of  the  universe. 
All  men  are  brethren.  All  the  worlds  are  connected. 
Heaven  is  in  communication  with  earth.  We  belong 
to  a  numerous  family.  And  God,  the  great  Father, 
has  redeemed  us  all. 


II. 

Another  thought  suggested  by  the  text  Is  this: 
This  sympathy  is  measured  by  our  need. 

There  is  joy  '*  in  Heaven  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  per- 
sons   that    need   no    repentance."     Who    these   just 


HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE   PENITENT.      26/ 

persons  are,  that  need  no  repentance  the  Bible 
does  not  tell  us.  Perhaps  they  are  the  people  of 
other  worlds  who  have  never  sinned.  It  may  be 
that  these  are  so  numerous  as  to  be  as  ninety  and 
nine  to  one  of  those  who  do  need  repentance.  It 
may  be  that  ours  is  the  only  world  that  sin  has 
entered ;  and  perhaps  on  that  account  the  sympathy 
of  Heaven  is  drawn  out  for  it.  Perhaps  the  angels 
concentrate  their  efforts  upon  the  salvation  of  the 
human  race. 

Certainly  the  Saviour  teaches  in  all  this  chapter 
that  the  sympathy  of  God  and  angels  is  increased  by 
the  greatness  of  our  necessities.  The  shepherd  cares 
for  the  lost  sheep  because  it  is  lost,  just  as  the  father 
cares  for  his  returning  son  because  he  has  been  lost. 
It  is  a  principle  in  nature  which  we  often  observe. 
As  soon  as  a  plant  or  tree  is  injured,  all  the  forces  of 
its  life  set  themselves  to  repair  the  injury.  Or  if  any 
part  of  our  body  is  wounded,  the  vital  powers  con- 
centrate their  energy  to  repair  that  part.  So  if  one 
of  our  neighbors  is  sick,  everybody  is  inquiring  for 
him ;  and  we  are  all  trying  to  do  what  we  can  for  his 
comfort  and  recovery,  more  than  for  ninety  and  nine 
well  persons  which  need  no  help.  You  read  a  while 
ago  of  an  unfortunate  man  whose  boat  had  been 
drawn  into  the  rapids  above  Niagara,  and  hundreds 
of  people  gathered  on  the  shore,  and  watched  with 
breathless  interest  the  efforts  of  the  man  to  turn  his 
boat  towards  the  shore ;  and,  as  he  was  swept  nearer 
and  nearer  the  brink  of  the  cataract,  men  held  their 
breath,  and  grew  pale,  and  some  fainted  at  the  spec- 
tacle from  which  they  had  no   power  to   turn  their 


268      HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE   PENITENT. 

eyes.  So  God  and  angels  are  drawn,  by  all  the 
power  of  sympathy,  towards  those  who  are  sinful, 
who  are  sleeping  on  the  brink  of  destruction,  and 
who  are  coming  nearer,  every  day,  to  the  limits  of 
their  probation.  The  Scriptures  are  quite  explicit  in 
teaching  this  truth.  Christ  said,  "  They  that  are 
whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick." 
He  came  *'  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners."  ^ 
He  was  the  Saviour  of  "  lost  men  "  in  such  a  sense 
that  He  sought  the  sinful,  and  the  outcasts,  and 
made  known  to  these  people  the  larger  hope  of  the 
gospel.  The  philosophers  sought  the  wisest,  and  the 
purest  men,  because  they  were  best  fitted  to  receive 
the  new  truths  they  had  to  give  them;  but  Christ 
sought  out  the  pubhcans  and  sinners  of  His  time, 
because  they  were  in  greater  need  than  others  of 
His  love  and  grace. 

This  point  is  very  distinctly  taught  in  the  gospel. 
God  is  attracted  towards  us,  not  by  our  deserts,  but 
by  our  great  necessities.  It  is  not  justice,  but  love 
and  sympathy  which  are  the  motives  for  His  seek- 
ing to  redeem  us ;  for  we  read,  "  God  commendeth 
His  love  unto  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners 
Christ  died  for  us."^ 

III. 

A  third  principle  in  this  group  of  thoughts  is  this : 

T/ie  sympathy  of  God  and  His  angels  for  sinful  men  is 

personal.     I  think  it  would  be  a  very  wonderful  thing 

if  we  had  been  told  that  there  is  joy  in  Heaven  when 

1  St.  Mark  ii.  17.  2  Romans  v.  8. 


HEAVEN  IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE   PENITENT.      269 

a  great  multitude  of  men  repent,  because  the  angels 
are  very  far  from  us,  and  we  should  hardly  expect 
them  to  take  much  interest  in  those  who  dwell  here. 
But  it  is  a  great  deal  more  when  we  are  taught  that 
there  is  joy  among  the  angels  when  one  sinner  is 
saved.  For  this  statement  involves  a  more  real  and 
complete  sympathy.  It  is  like  the  feeHng  of  the 
shepherd  for  the  one  sheep  that  had  gone  astray,  or 
like  the  feeling  of  the  father  for  the  son  who  had 
become  a  prodigal.  The  text  actually  teaches  that 
the  feeHng  of  God,  and  of  His  angels,  for  sinful  men, 
is  like  that  of  a  father  for  his  son  who  is  lost.  Then 
they  must  know  something  about  each  one  of  us. 
They  know  our  names  and  our  characters,  our  temp- 
tations, our  victories,  and  defeats;  and  they  know, 
too,  the  grand  possibilities  for  those  who  are  saved 
from  sin  in  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

It  has  been  said  with  truth  that  the  Christian  reli- 
gion has  taught  the  world  a  new  doctrine  of  the  dignity 
and  value  of  the  individual.  It  has  certainly  brought 
a  new  hope  to  common  men  by  teaching  that  God 
cares  for  man  as  man,  without  reference  to  his  rank, 
or  his  attainments.  Our  Christian  civilization  lifts  up 
the  weak,  and  protects  the  helpless,  and  brings  a 
share  of  the  prizes  of  life  within  reach  of  the  aver- 
age man.  Objection  is  sometimes  made  to  this 
tendency.  Matthew  Arnold  complained  that  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  United  States  is  such  as  to  favor  *'  the 
average  man,"  rather  than  the  man  of  highest  intelli- 
gence and  culture.  The  civilization  which  Mr.  Arnold 
unconsciously  pleaded  for  was  a  civilization  with  an 
aristocratic   basis.     But  this   is    in    striking   contrast 


270      HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PENITENT. 

with  the  spirit  of  this  text.  The  sympathy  of  the 
angels  is  for  man  as  man,  —  man  in  danger,  and  in 
trouble ;  the  average  man,  —  yes ;  for  those  who  are 
far  below  the  average  man,  —  for  publicans  and  sin- 
ners; for  men  who  were  lost,  and  who  have  been 
redeemed  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  We  do 
not  realize  how  much  God  cares  for  us.  A  man 
comes  into  the  great  congregation  on  the  Lord's 
day.  He  goes  to  his  pew.  He  is  only  one  among 
the  multitude.  He  is  not  distinguished.  He  is  no 
more  than  an  average  man.  But  God  cares  for  that 
man,  because  he  has  the  powers  and  the  destiny  of 
a  man,  and  because  he  may  have  an  inheritance 
among  the  angels. 

The  division  of  labor  in  our  time  tends  to  give 
men  a  low  idea  of  their  capacities.  There  was  more 
independence  and  more  dignity  in  the  old  times  when 
men  became  masters  of  a  business,  or  a  handicraft. 
But  now,  when  each  man  is  expected  to  limit  himself 
to  his  specialty,  to  make  an  infinitesimal  part  of 
something,  to  make  the  spring  of  a  penknife,  for  in- 
stance, or  the  eighteenth  part  of  a  pin,  —  when  work 
is  specialized  in  this  way,  our  tendency  is  to  think  of 
each  workman  as  of  very  little  importance.  A  man 
can  limit  his  attention  to  the  smallest  part  of  the 
work  of  life,  and  yet  he  knows  that  he  has  powers 
which  fit  him  to  do  a  great  many  things.  The  insect 
can  do  one  thing,  and  only  one.  An  animal  can  do 
a  few  things,  but  it  soon  reaches  its  limit.  But  a  man 
can  do  so  many  things  that  the  world  is  full  of  his 
work,  and  every  year  brings  new  inventions,  which 
open  the  way  to  broader  activities. 


HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PENITENT.      2/1 

And  then,  man  never  reaches  the  Hmit  of  his 
growth.  One  of  the  commonplace  sayings  in  regard 
to  children  is  that  they  will  take  the  places  of  their 
parents  in  a  few  years.  But  the  angels  look  much 
further  than  that.  In  a  few  years  the  sinner  that 
repenteth  will  enter  into  the  city  of  God,  and  will 
become  such  a  being  as  the  knowledge  and  the  pur- 
ity, and  the  employments  of  Heaven  will  make  a 
redeemed  soul.  The  angels  see  the  lost  sheep  wan- 
dering upon  the  mountains,  and  they  know  how  much 
the  Good  Shepherd  cares  for  that  one  sheep,  and  how 
much  He  can  do  for  it,  when  He  has  it  back  in  the 
fold. 

IV. 

The  last  of  the  thoughts  that  come  from  this  text 
is  this :  The  one  event  in  human  life  which  causes  joy 
in  Heaven  is  the  repentance  of  a  simmer.  Men  rejoice 
when  a  child  is  born,  but  the  angels  rejoice  when  that 
child  is  born  again.  Men  rejoice  when  their  children 
are  growing  up  to  manhood,  when  they  are  graduated 
from  school  or  from  college,  when  they  enter  upon 
business,  or  upon  professional  life.  If  an  inheritance 
falls  to  one,  all  his  friends  rejoice.  He  is  congratu- 
lated on  his  marriage,  or  on  winning  some  coveted 
honor  or  position  in  the  world.  But  these  are  only 
steps  in  the  earthly  life.  They  may  not  improve  the 
character,  or  fit  one  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  We 
are  what  we  are  at  heart.  Our  destiny  will  depend 
on  our  relations  with  God.  One. who  is  living  with- 
out God  in  the  world,  —  what  has  he  to  expect  in  the 
world  to  come?    What  is  there  for  those  who  are  dead 


272      HEAVEN  IN   SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PENITENT. 

in  trespasses  and  sins,  —  even  though  they  be  clothed 
in  purple,  and  fare  sumptuously  every  day? 

Repentance  is  the  beginning  of  the  new  life.  It  is 
the  turning  away  from  a  life  of  wandering,  and  going 
back  towards  the  Father's  house.  It  is  godly  sorrow 
for  the  sins  that  are  past,  and  giving  the  heart  and 
the  life  to  Christ.  You  say  it  is  only  the  beginning. 
But  the  beginning  is  an  essential  part.  Every  evil 
habit,  every  downward  course  has  had  a  beginning. 
When  one  has  begun  to  go  wrong  he  will  go  on 
towards  greater  wrong  unless  he  repents  and  begins 
to  go  back.  So  every  part  of  our  improvement  has 
had  its  beginning.  When  "  a  sinner  repenteth  "  he  is 
doing  his  first  right  act.  He  is  bringing  himself  within 
reach  of  the  promises  of  God.  He  is  securing  the  help 
and  the  grace  of  Christ.  Every  one  who  repenteth, 
sincerely,  will  be  forgiven  for  Christ's  sake.  His 
name  will  be  written  in  the  Book  of  Life.  His  prayers 
will  come  up  with  acceptance  before  God ;  and  if  he 
goes  on  humbly  and  prayerfully,  he  will  be  kept  by 
the  power  of  God,  through  faith  unto  salvation.^ 
The  little  leaven  of  grace  will  work  until  it  pervades 
his  whole  soul.  He  will  become  more  holy  and 
blessed,  until  he  is  prepared  to  be  presented  before 
God  *'  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing."  ^ 


This  is  the  gospel,  as  our  Saviour  taught  it.  In  this 
way  He  sets  forth  that  law  of  sympathy  which  per- 
vades the  universe  :  a  sympathy  born  of  solicitude ;  a 
sympathy  for  individuals ;  a  sympathy  for  those  who 

1  I  Peter  i.  5.  2  Ephesians  v.  27. 


HEAVEN   IN   SYMPATHY  WITH   THE   PENITENT.      273 

are  exposed  to  the  greatest  perils;    a  solicitude  for 
their  repentance  and  their  salvation. 

1.  Let  no  one,  therefore,  feel  that  he  is  alone. 
There  is  a  strong  bond  of  sympathy  between  each 
one  of  us,  and  God  our  Saviour,  and  the  angels  and 
ministers  of  grace. 

2.  Neither  let  any  one  who  is  unsaved  suppose  that 
his  condition  is  a  comfortable  one.  The  angels  of 
God  are  solicitous  for  you  because  they  know  the 
secrets  of  the  other  world.  They  know  what  you 
will  lose  if  you  lose  your  soul.  They  know  what 
you  will  gain  if  you  have  a  part  in  the  great  salvation. 

3.  If,  then,  God  and  angels  are  solicitous  on  your 
account,  shall  not  you,  also,  be  solicitous?  Christ 
came  ''  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost."  ^  "  It  is  a  faith- 
ful saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  ^  '*  Be- 
hold now  is  the  acceptable  time,  behold  now  is  the 
day  of  salvation."  ^ 

1  St.  Luke  xix.  10.  2  j  Timothy  i.  15. 

^  2  Corinthians  vi.  2. 


XVII. 
WHAT   IS  TRUE  LIBERTY? 


XVII. 
WHAT   IS  TRUE   LIBERTY? 

And  he  said,  A  certain  man  had  two  sons :  and  the 
younger  of  them  said  to  his  father,  Father,  give  me  the  por- 
tion of  thy  substance  that  falleth  to  me.     And  he  divided 

unto  them  his  living. 

St.  Luke  xv.  11-12. 

This  most  Interesting  parable  of  the  prodigal  son 
—  one  of  the  brightest  gems  In  the  whole  group  of 
parables  —  represents  all  our  life  as  connected  with 
God,  as  the  life  of  a  son  with  a  father.  God  Is  repre- 
sented by  the  father  of  the  family ;  the  Pharisees  who 
were  complaining  because  the  Saviour  received  sin- 
ners are  represented  by  the  older  son,  and  sinful 
men  have  for  their  type  the  prodigal  son.  The  whole 
Is  under  the  form  of  a  family  life.  There  is  the  father, 
who  owns  all,  and  to  whom  all  ought  to  give  their 
love  and  obedience ;  the  older  son,  who  was  obedient 
Indeed,  but  narrow,  uncharitable,  and  self-righteous; 
and  the  younger  son,  who  thought  he  should  have 
more  liberty  If  he  took  his  portion  of  goods,  and 
went  to  the  far  country.  The  father's  home  is  the 
centre  of  the  picture,  —  the  home  of  the  family, 
the  place  of  abundance,  the  place  of  return  after 
wandering,  the  place  of  welcome  for  the  returning 
prodigal. 


278  WHAT  IS  TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

There  is  nothing  in  any  Hterature,  or  in  the  sacred 
books  of  any  religion,  better  fitted  to  give  a  correct 
view  of  the  relation  of  God  to  us,  than  this  parable. 
Not  as  a  judge,  not  as  a  lawgiver,  not  as  ai  king,  is 
God  presented  to  us  here,  but  as  a  father,  with  a 
father's  sympathy,  and  dignity,  and  resources,  so 
that,  if  the  son  will  go  away  to  the  far  country,  he 
can  provide  him  a  portion.  He  will  allow  him  to 
make  his  own  choice,  and  yet  he  will  follow  him  with 
a  father's  soHcitude,  and  will  be  wilHng  to  meet  him, 
if  he  comes  back,  with  free  forgiveness,  and  to  put  on 
him  the  best  robe,  and  to  give  him  the  signet  ring, 
and  shoes  for  his  feet,  and  to  kill  for  him  the  fatted 
calf,  and  to  rejoice  because  the  lost  is  found,  and 
the  dead  is  alive  again.  Think  of  the  old  home,  — 
the  place  of  the  sweet  experiences  of  a  bright  child- 
hood, the  place  of  plenty,  and  of  wise  and  whole- 
some restraint,  the  place  of  abounding  love ;  that  is 
the  central  object  in  the  picture.  There  is  the  father, 
who  has  bound  the  children  so  closely  to  him  that 
they  can  never  forget  him.  If  they  go  away  into  a 
strange  land,  they  will  be  sure  to  think  of  him  when 
trouble  touches  them;  and  if  they  have  done  him 
any  wrong  they  will  wish  to  confess  it,  and  to  ask  his 
forgiveness,  when  they  come  to  themselves.  Now  lift 
the  thought  from  the  earthly  home  to  the  heavenly 
home,  from  the  best  father  in  the  home  below  to  the 
Father  above,  and  you  have  the  point  of  view  of  this 
parable.  The  Saviour  taught  us  to  say,  Our  Father, 
because  He  came  to  reveal  the  Fatherhood  of  God, 
and  to  show  us  that  we  are  all  loved,  and  cared  for, 
as  the  children  of  God. 


WHAT   IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ?  279 


In  the  text  we  have  a  son  from  this  family  asserting 
his  freedom,  and  going  away  from  his  father's  house 
to   a  far  country,  with  his   portion   of  goods.     The 
parable  tells  us  of  the  going  away,  and  what  came  of 
it.  The  young  man  said  to  his  father:   ''  Father,  give 
me  the  portion  of  thy  substance  that  falleth  to  me." 
By  the  "  portion  that  falleth  to  me,"  we  may  under- 
stand one's  time,  and  possessions,  and  opportunities, 
of    all   sorts.      When    we    read    that    the    son   said, 
''Father,  give  me  the  portion  that  falleth  to  me,"  we 
have  the  expression  of  the  desire  of  those  who  wish 
to  cast  aside  the  restraints  of  the  Heavenly  Father. 
Their  purpose  is  to   use  their  lives  as  they  please. 
The  younger  son  did  not  go  away  from  his  father's 
house  because  he  needed  to  go,  or  because  he  desired 
to  do  a  larger  work  than  he  could  do  there,  but  be- 
cause he  wanted  to  live  more  freely.     He  desired  to 
do  as  he  pleased.     He  was  asserting  his  individuality, 
not  for  the  sake  of  a  noble  and  useful  life,  but  for  the 
sake  of  self-indulgence.     So  he  took  his  portion  of 
goods,    and   went   into    the    far   country,    and   there 
wasted    his    substance  with   riotous  living.     He  had 
certain  desires  for  a  self-indulgent  life,  and  he  went 
into  the  far  country  that  he  might  be  free  to  gratify 
those  desires. 

IL 
Let  us  observe,  the  father  did  not  prevent  him  from 
doing  as  he  pleased.     He  recognized  the  freedom  of 
his  son.     If  he  would  have  his  portion  of  goods,  and 


28o  WHAT  IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

go  and  waste  it,  he  should  have  it.  God  deals  with 
us  as  moral  agents.  I  suppose  He  could  control  us. 
He  could  prevent  sin  by  an  arbitrary  use  of  His 
power.  The  father,  in  the  parable,  could  have  pre- 
vented his  son  from  going  into  the  far  country.  Cer- 
tainly, he  could  have  refused  to  give  him  the  portion 
of  goods  which  he  asked  for.  But  that  is  not  the  way 
in  which  a  wise  father  deals  with  his  sons  after  they 
have  reached  years  of  discretion.  It  is  not  the  way 
in  which  God  deals  with  us.  Our  characters  are 
formed  in  the  experiences  of  life,  and  there  can  be 
no  character  without  freedom  of  action.  If  we  are 
to  become  virtuous  and  holy  we  must  choose  the 
good,  and  the  power  to  choose  the  good  implies  a 
power  to  choose  the  evil.  If  God  leaves  us  free,  then 
it  is  certainly  possible  for  us  to  choose  the  wrong 
instead  of  the  right.  To  be  free  is  to  be  able  to 
choose  vice  or  virtue,  sin  or  holiness.  People  some- 
times inquire  why  God  does  not  prevent  the  sin  that 
men  commit?  The  answer  is:  God  does  all  He  can 
properly  do  to  prevent  sin,  but  God  leaves  us  free, 
and  if  He  leaves  us  really  free,  then  He  cannot  pre- 
vent us  from  choosing  the  evil  instead  of  the  good. 
Certainly  God  could  prevent  sin  by  an  exertion  of  His 
almighty  power.  But  there  is  no  virtue  in  that  which 
is  done  by  compulsion.  The  same  arbitrary  act  of 
God  which  prevented  sin  would  make  virtue  impos- 
sible. If  we  are  to  be  really  holy  we  must  choose 
holiness,  and  choose  it  freely.  And  if  we  are  free 
to  choose,  then  we  are  able  to  choose  wrongly.  So 
that  while  God  leaves  us  free,  we  have  the  power  to 
sin. 


WHAT  IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ?  28 1 

The  prodigal  was  free  to  stay  with  his  father,  as  a 
dutiful  son,  or  to  go  to  the  far  country  to  waste  his 
substance  with  riotous  living.  In  either  case  he 
would  have  been  perfectly  free.  If  he  had  stayed, 
it  would  have  been  because  he  loved  his  father,  and 
desired  to  follow  the  sort  of  life  that  his  father  was 
following,  and  to  put  himself  under  the  restraints  of 
a  life  of  virtue.  If  he  went  to  the  far  country,  it 
would  be  because  he  preferred  to  gratify  his  desires 
for  a  riotous  life.  These  two  leading  motives  would 
come  up  in  his  mind :  the  desire  to  remain  with  his 
father,  and  to  live  a  good  life,  and  the  desire  to  be 
free  for  a  life  of  license  and  of  riot.  He  could  follow 
either  motive,  as  he  should  choose,  —  the  lower  mo- 
tive, or  the  higher  motive,  the  good  or  the  evil.  He 
could  go,  or  he  could  stay. 

It  is  precisely  so  in  the  great  choices  which  we 
make  in  respect  to  a  religious  life.  The  one  who  re- 
fuses to  come  to  Christ  acts  freely,  and  in  so  doing 
he  uses  his  liberty.  But  the  one  who  comes  to  Christ 
also  acts  freely,  and  so  he  uses  his  liberty.  When  a 
man  says,  I  want  more  freedom  than  I  could  have  in  a 
religious  life,  he  does  as  he  pleases.  But  when  another 
takes  the  yoke  of  Christ,  and  finds  the  yoke  easy,  and 
the  burden  light,  he,  also,  does  as  he  pleases.  So  far 
forth,  the  one  is  as  free  as  the  other. 

III. 

It  appears,  then,  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  liberty.  ^ 
The    prodigal    son   said,    give    me   the    portion    that 
falleth  to  me,  because  he  desired  to  gain  his  liberty. 
Just  as   one  who  refuses  to  come   to  Christ  does  it 


282  WHAT  IS  TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

because  he  desires  to  keep  his  liberty.  One  may 
say,  I  am  fond  of  certain  ways  of  living  which  I 
could  not  follow  if  I  were  a  Christian,  and  I  am 
going  to  keep  my  liberty.  Another  says,  I  am  fond 
of  certain  vices  which  I  could  not  practise  if  I  were 
a  Christian,  and  I  am  going  to  keep  my  liberty. 
Just  as  a  third  may  say,  I  am  engaged  in  a  cer- 
tain business  which  I  could  not  continue  if  I  were 
to  become  a  Christian,  and  I  will  not  surrender  ^mv 
liberty.  ,  ,f^\r'tZ..  ^ ■.  ^^-^  -h^^^'^-'i  ->-^ 

A  group  of  young  people  are  thinking  about  enter- 
ing upon  the  Christian  life.  They  agree  that  they 
ought  to  do  this.  They  desire  to  do  good  to  others. 
They  think,  also,  that  it  is  the  highest  and  noblest 
life.  They  are  attracted  to  Christ,  as  the  Saviour  of 
men.  His  love  constrains  them,^  and  they  decide  to 
follow  Him.  They  begin  very  humbly,  and  with  ear- 
nest prayer,  and  the  Lord  gives  to  each  of  them  a 
new  experience.  They  love  the  ways  of  piety. 
They  enjoy  prayer,  and  all  religious  exercises,  and 
they  love  to  do  the  things  that  will  please  Christ. 
They  have  dropped  the  old  pleasures,  because  they 
have  a  richer  enjoyment  in  the  new  life. 

Are  not  both  these  classes  acting  as  they  please? 
Are  they  not  both  entirely  free  ?  Is  there  any  differ- 
ence between  them  in  respect  to  freedom?  And  yet 
they  are  going  in  opposite  directions.  That  course 
of  life  which  is  the  greatest  joy  to  those  of  the  one 
class,  would  be  bondage  to  those  of  the  other  class. 
The  difference  between  them  is  not  in  respect  to 
liberty,  but  it  is  in  respect  to  the  ruling  desire  and 

1  2  Corinthians  v.  14. 


WHAT   IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ?  283 

purpose.  That  which  is  the  joy  of  the  one  is  unwel- 
come to  the  other.  I^-you  ask  those  who  are  Chris- 
tians whether  they  desire  to  go  back  to  the  old  life, 
they  will  say,  No ;  because  we  have  something  that  is 
far  better.  They  find  the  new  life  more  and  more 
attractive.  So  that  the  man  who  thinks  he  would 
lose  his  liberty  by  becoming  a  Christian  is  mistaken. 
The  Christian  has  not  lost  the  power  to  do  the  things 
that  are  sinful,  but  he  does  not  choose  them.  His 
strongest  desire  is  to  lead  a  higher  and  a  better  life, 
and  in  seeking  to  lead  such  a  Hfe  he  is  just  as  truly 
free  as  the  other  who  is  following  the  lower  life. 

IV. 

'^ '  Which  of  these  is  the  higher  kind  of  liberty  ?  Let 
us  seek  for  illustrations,  first  of  all,  in  the  common 
affairs  of  life.  There  are  two  boys  at  school.  One 
of  them  is  always  breaking  the  rules,  wasting  his 
time,  playing  truant.  You  urge  him  to  become  a 
diligent  scholar,  and  he  repHes,  No ;  I  am  going  to  do 
as  I  please.  I  '11  have  my  liberty.  The  other  boy  is 
regular  in  his  attendance,  obedient,  and  studious. 
The  idle  boys  try  to  induce  him  to  go  with  them, 
but  he  says.  No ;  I  do  not  like  your  way,  and  I  am 
going  to  do  as  I  please.  Certainly,  both  of  these 
boys  have  their  liberty.  Both  are  doing  as  they 
please.  But  which  is  the  higher  sort  of  liberty,  — 
the  liberty  of  being  idle,  and  shiftless,  or  the  liberty 
of  being  industrious  and  true?  Is  not  that  the  no- 
blest sort  of  liberty  which  opens  the  way  to  the  noblest 
life? 


284  WHAT  IS  TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

Here  is  a  group  of  Indians,  accustomed  to  range  at 
will  over  the  prairie.  They  love  that  wild,  indolent 
life,  because  it  is  so  free.  The  Indian  does  not  like 
to  work.  But  is  he  really  freer  than  the  civilized 
man  who  enjoys  his  beautiful  home,  and  his  intelli- 
gent and  cultured  family,  and  who  pursues  his  regu- 
lar employment  cheerfully,  because  it  secures  to  him 
the  means  of  living  in  a  regular  and  civilized  way? 
Is  civilization  a  bondage?  It  requires  regular  indus- 
try, and  economy,  and  temperance,  and  honesty,  and 
truthfulness,  and  benevolence,  in  order  to  its  highest 
development;  but  is  it,  therefore,  a  bondage?  Do 
we  not  enjoy  a  much  higher  form  of  liberty  than  the 
wild  Indians? 

Here  is  an  intemperate  man.  He  loves  his  cups, 
and  he  is  frequently  intoxicated.  You  ask  him  to 
sign  the  temperance  pledge,  and  he  will  tell  you  he  is 
not  going  to  sign  away  his  liberty.  What  sort  of 
liberty  is  that  for  a  rational  man,  to  squander  his 
earnings,  to  make  a  beast  of  himself,  to  make  his 
home  wretched,  to  become  a  terror  to  his  own  fam- 
ily? But  you  are  a  temperate  man.  Is  there  any 
bondage  in  that?  In  living  a  temperate  life  you 
place  yourself  under  that  limitation,  that  you  will  not 
use  intoxicating  drinks.  Does  that  lessen  your  free- 
dom? Certainly  not,  because  you  impose  the  rule 
upon  yourself  You  limit  yourself,  for  your  own 
good,  and  because  the  example  is  a  safe  one  for 
others.  Do  you  lose  any  real  liberty  by  doing  that? 
Are  you  not  gaining  a  higher  sort  of  liberty? 

The  drunkard  Is  free  in  that  he  gratifies  his  desires. 
But  does  not  that  sort  of  gratification  bring  him  into 


WHAT  IS  TRUE   LIBERTY  ?  285 

bondage  to  these  desires  and  appetites,  and  does  it 
not  degrade  his  manhood?  And  yet,  though  he  is 
bound,  hand  and  foot,  by  low  and  ruinous  habits,  he 
talks  about  signing  away  his  liberty.  The  poor,  rag- 
ged, wretched  man,  who  has  lost  his  self-respect,  and 
dulled  all  his  nobler  feelings,  —  how  much  true  lib- 
erty has  such  a  man?  Is  there  any  way  for  him  to 
regain  his  liberty  except  by  restraining  his  appetites, 
and  breaking  off  his  evil  habits,  and  bringing  that 
poor,  broken  nature  of  his  under  the  control  of  the 
law  of  duty  and  right? 

Liberty,  then,  is  more  than  doing  as  one  pleases. 
Let  the  irrational  beasts  follow  their  appetites  and 
desires.  But  it  is  the  glory  of  man,  as  a  rational 
being,  that  he  can  follow  the  ends  of  life  which  he 
has  chosen  for  himself,  according  to  a  rational  and 
moral  law.  He  is  able  to  rise  above  his  lower  nature, 
and  to  rule  it.  In  this  control  of  that  which  is  sen- 
suous he  enters  the  realm  of  true  freedom.  The  freest 
man  is  the  man  who  has  brought  his  whole  nature 
under  the  control  of  a  moral  rule.  The  temperate 
man  is  freer  than  the  drunkard,  because  he  is  the 
master  of  himself,  while  the  drunkard  is  the  slave  of 
his  appetites.  The  man  who  is  industrious  and  vir- 
tuous is  a  freer  man  than  the  one  who  is  .indolent  and 
reckless,  because  the  first  is  gaining  the  mastery  of 
himself,  bringing  his  powers  of  body  and  of  mind 
under  the  rules  of  morality,  while  the  other  is  per- 
mitting his  nature  to  run  wild,  allowing  evil  habits  to 
grow  up,  and  evil  principles  to  control  his  life.  So, 
the  civilized   man  has  more  true  freedom   than   the 


286  WHAT   IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

savage,  because  the  first  disciplines  himself  as  to  his 
manners  and  ways  of  living,  and  principles  of  action, 
while  the  second  is  the  slave  of  his  passions,  and  of 
the  indolence  of  his  dull  and  sluggish  nature.  The 
free  man  is  the  man  who  holds  himself  under  the 
control  of  his  reason  and  his  conscience,  taking  upon 
himself  the  yoke  of  Him  who  was  meek  and  gentle, 
and  benevolent  and  self-sacrificing,  that  He  might 
save  the  world.  Such  an  one  will  be  gaining  the 
mastery  over  his  evil  inclinations  and  habits,  and  will 
be  coming  nearer,  continually,  to  that  standard  of  per- 
fection that  ever  flames  before  us,  — the  inspiration 
and  the  type  of  a  noble  character. 

V. 

What  sort  of  freedom  was  it,  then,  that  the  prodigal 
son  gained  in  the  far  country?  '  We  find  him  at  first 
in  a  home  of  abundance,  of  industry,  and  of  affection ; 
a  home  sanctified  by  parental  love  strong  enough  to 
last  through  years  of  ingratitude  and  of  dishonor,  and 
to  welcome  a  returning  son  who  came  covered  with  the 
scars  of  vice  and  sin.  The  highest  freedom  for  this 
younger  son  of  such  a  father  would  have  been  secured 
by  following  the  best  examples  which  he  found  there, 
and  bringing  his  unruly  appetites  under  the  law  of 
duty,  and  so  building  up  a  character,  —  gentle,  affec- 
tionate, self-centred,  steady,  and  strong.  There,  in  the 
presence  of  purity  and  love,  he  might  have  gained 
the  mastery  of  his  powers,  and  formed  his  habits,  and 
developed  his  tastes,  and  cultivated  his  intelligence, 
and  so  won  the  laurels  of  victory. 


WHAT   IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ?  287 

But  the  weak  and  foolish  prodigal  sought  to  gain 
his  freedom  by  breaking  away  from  the  educating 
and  refining  influences  of  the  father's  house ;  taking 
the  portion  of  goods  that  fell  to  him,  and  going  into 
the 'far  country,  not  to  live  a  larger  and  more  benefi- 
cent life,  but  to  give  himself  up  to  the  control  of  his 
lower  appetites,  —  wasting  his  substance  in  riotous 
living,  spending  his  estate  with  harlots,  and  reducing 
himself  to  utter  penury,  taking  up,  in  the  end,  the 
poor  industry  of  feeding  swine,  and  eating  their 
husks.  There  is  the  Hberty  of  sin,  in  this  forlorn 
debauchee,  this  miserable  and  hungry  relic  of  a  man, 
—  so  low,  that  though  he  was  perishing  with  hunger, 
no  man  gave  unto  him. 

This  is  the  representation  which  the  Saviour  has 
drawn,  in  a  few  strong  lines, —  the  masterly  touches 
of  a  divine  Artist,  —  of  the  result  of  going  away 
from  God  to  a  life  of  sin,  claiming  the  right  to  live  as 
one  pleases,  instead  of  living  as  one  ought,  to  follow 
one's  own  will  instead  of  the  will  of  God ;  claiming 
the  right  to  live  for  this  world,  its  pleasures,  its  riches, 
and  honors,  instead  of  living  for  God,  and  Christ,  and 
our  fellow-men. 

All  along,  in  the  parable,  there  is  implied  the  great 
truth  of  obligation,  the  highest  and  the  most  sacred. 
The  centre  of  the  parable  is  the  father's  house,  the 
central  person  the  father  himself.  The  son  had  no 
right  to  go  to  the  far  country  to  waste  his  substance. 
God  is  our  Father,  and  we  owe  our  highest  duty  to 
Him.  We  have  no  right  to  go  away  from  Him,  and 
seek  our  portion  in  this  life.  We  ought  to  love  God 
with  all  the  heart  and  soul,  and  when  we  refuse  to 


288  WHAT  IS  TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

give  our  hearts  to  Him  we  commit  the  greatest  pos- 
sible sin.  It  is  this  that  makes  us  prodigals,  the  fol- 
lowing our  will  instead  of  the  will  of  God,  and  seeking 
our  chief  good  in  this  life.  ,  The  parable  tells  us 
where  the  struggle  will  end.  The  effort  to  gain  free- 
dom in  that  way  brings  us  into  bondage.  We  shall 
spend  our  lives  in  that  which  will  fail  to  satisfy  our 
spiritual  wants,  and  when  the  sources  of  earthly 
pleasure  begin  to  dry  up,  we  shall  begin  *'  to  be  in 
want."  Alas  !  for  the  man  who  discovers,  as  the  result 
of  life,  that  there  is  no  living  bread  in  the  provision 
he  has  been  laying  up  for  himself 

It  is  quite  possible  for  any  thoughtful  man  to  esti- 
mate the  probable  results  of  the  life  he  is  leading. 
Who  can  be  satisfied  with  what  he  has  found  in  the 
far  country?  Does  the  freedom  of  a  worldly  life 
prove  to  be  the  true  freedom?  Do  the  pleasures  of 
such  a  life  really  satisfy  the  soul  ?  Are  not  those  who 
have  taken  the  yoke  of  Christ,  and  who  are  learning 
of  Him,  finding  the  yoke  easy,  and  the  burden  light? 

VI. 

In  the  end  of  the  parable  we  read  that  the  prodi- 
gal "  came  to  himself,"  and  said,  '*  How  many  hired 
servants  of  my  father's  have  bread  enough  and  to 
spare,  and  I  perish  with  hunger.  I  will  arise  and  go 
to  my  father."  It  was  a  good  thought,  coming  to 
him  in  the  "far  country,"  and  that  good  thought 
was  the  turning-point  in  his  life.  The  higher  na- 
ture, which  he  had  suppressed,  claimed  his  attention. 
It  was    still    possible    for   him    to    go    back   to    his 


WHAT  IS   TRUE   LIBERTY  ?  289 

father's  house.  The  father's  love  would  provide 
some  redemption  for  him.  There  was  still  an  abun- 
dance for  him  there,  though  he  had  "  wasted  "  his 
substance. 

The  good  thought  was  not  dropped.  A  great 
many  obstacles  would  hinder  his  return.,  —  shame, 
the  fear  of  failure,  the  habits  of  sin,  the  influence  of 
evil  companions.  But  he  held  to  the  "  good  thought." 
**  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  I  will  say, 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy 
sight ;  I  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son : 
make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants."  ^  The  good 
thought  stayed  with  him,  like  a  guiding  star,  through 
the  long  and  weary  road.  He  would  seek  his  father's 
face,  and  confess  his  sin,  and  give  himself  up  again 
to  his  father's  service ;  not  seeking  for  the  place  of  a 
son,  but  only  of  a  servant. 

Ah,  the  good  thoughts  that  come  to  us  in  God's 
great  mercy,  to  remind  us  of  our  sin  and  our  loss, 
of  the  joy  and  peace  we  might  have,  —  thoughts  of 
going  back  to  the  Father's  house.  It  may  be  these 
thoughts  come  less  frequently  than  they  used  to 
come.  Perhaps  the  conscience  is  becoming  dull, 
and  the  sense  of  spiritual  things  dim,  and  the  voice 
of  God  in  our  souls  faint.  These  are  the  symptoms 
of  advancing  spiritual  death.  The  good  thought  that 
is  repressed  dies  away.  The  Spirit  will  not  always 
strive  with  man.^ 

And  still,  all  good  changes  in  life  come  from  fol- 
lowing good  thoughts.  The  road  of  return  is  open. 
The  Father  waits  to  receive  every  penitent  prodigal. 

1  St.  Luke  XV.  18-19.  2  Genesis  vi.  3. 

19 


290  WHAT  IS  TRUE   LIBERTY  ? 

For  the  sake  of  His  great  love,  He  will  blot  out  the 
sins  that  are  past,  and  will  bring  forth  the  best  robe, 
and  the  signet  ring,  and  those  that  were  lost  will  be 
found  of  Him,  and  those  that  were  dead  shall  be 
made  alive  again. 


XVIII. 

OUR  LORD'S  APPRECIATION   OF  THE 
GOOD   IN   EVIL  MEN. 


XVIII. 

THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL 

MEN. 

Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved  him. 

St.  Mark  x.  21. 

This  word,  ''  beholding,"  is  often  used  of  Jesus,  and 
it  suggests  something  as  to  His  aspect,  and  His  habits 
in  dealing  with  men.  We  sometimes  say  of  a  man 
that  he  has  a  peculiar  look.  We  know  an  honest 
man  by  his  look.  In  the  same  way  we  recognize  a 
person  of  sensibility  and  culture.  The  look,  hke  the 
voice,  is  characteristic.  A  painter  cannot  give  you  a 
good  likeness  unless  he  can  catch  the  characteristic 
look  of  his  subject. 

Many  things  that  we  read  of  Jesus  imply  that 
when  He  was  about  to  speak  to  a  person,  He  raised 
His  eyes  and  looked  at  him.  In  this  very  chapter 
we  read,  "  And  Jesus  looking  upon  them  saith.  With 
men  it  is  impossible,  but  not  with  God."  ^  We  read 
in  the  Gospel  of  Luke  that  when  Peter  had  denied 
Him,  "  the  Lord  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter."  ^ 
That  look  went  to  the  heart  of  the  unfaithful  disciple, 
and  "  he  went  out  and  wept  bitterly."  The  look  of 
Jesus  had  the  insight  of  a  divine  being,  for  ''  He  knew 
what  was  in  man."  When  this  young  Jewish  ruler 
came  to  inquire,  "What  shall  I  do  that  I  may  in- 
1  St.  Mark  x.  27.  2  §{_  Luke  xxii.  61-62. 


294      THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD    IN   EVIL  MEN. 

herit  eternal  life ;  "  Jesus  looked  at  him,  and  read  his 
thoughts.  *'  Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved  him." 
It  was  a  spontaneous  love,  for  Jesus  saw  at  once  the 
good  there  was  in  him,  and  His  nature  was  respon- 
sive. He  also  saw  the  evil  there  was  in  him,  but  that 
did  not  prevent  the  appreciation  of  the  good.  Jesus 
saw  that  this  young  man,  who  had  come  to  Him  so 
eagerly,  had  an  unusual  desire  for  the  best  things. 
He  was  not  indifferent  to  spiritual  interests,  like  the 
larger  number  whom  Jesus  met.  He  was  not  con- 
tent to  float  in  the  current,  with  little  thought  of 
duty,  and  less  of  the  hereafter.  He  was  living  a 
clean  Hfe,  for  one  thing,  and  that  is  a  great  deal. 
He  had  kept  the  commandments  from  his  youth  up. 
He  desired  to  have  eternal  life.  He  had  heard  of 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  when  he  learned  that 
Jesus  had  come  to  the  place  where  he  was,  he 
came  running,  and  kneeled  before  Him,  and  inquired 
eagerly  what  Jesus  could  tell  him  of  the  way  to  gain 
eternal  life.  The  story  is  so  graphic  that  we  can 
almost  see  the  Master,  with  His  gracious  bearing, 
turning  to  behold  this  earnest  inquirer,  who  was 
eagerly  asking  how  he  could  please  God,  and  gain 
His  favor. 

Jesus  saw  the  evil  in  this  young  man  as  plainly  as 
He  saw  the  good.  He  perceived  that,  with  all  his 
desire  to  know  the  truth,  he  was  self-indulgent,  ava- 
ricious, and  intensely  selfish.  He  desired  to  gain  eter- 
nal life,  but  his  strongest  desire  was  to  keep  and  enjoy 
his  great  possessions.  Jesus  saw,  at  once,  that  this 
young  man  loved  himself,  and  did  not  love  God.  He 
wanted  to  gain  eternal  life  for  his  own  gratification. 


THE  APrRECIATION   OF   GOOD    IN    EVIL  MEN.      295 

He  was  not  willing  tc  deny  himself,  or  to  consecrate 
his  wealth,  or  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of 
God.  He  had  not  the  first  element  of  a  true  disciple. 
He  was  not  willing  to  leave  father  and  mother,  or 
houses  and  lands,  for  Christ's  sake.  When  Jesus 
told  him  that  he  must  give  up  all,  he  did  not  obey. 
He  went  away,  —  sorrowful,  indeed,  but  he  went 
away.  He  was  not  willing  to  bear  any  cross.  And 
yet,  we  read  of  this  man  that,  "■  Jesus  beholding  him 
loved  him." 

The  lesson  for  us  in  the  text  is  this :  Jesus  appre- 
ciated the  good  there  was  in  this  young  man,  althougJi 
He  knew  very  well  that  he  lacked  the  one  thing  needful. 


This  appreciation  of  the  good  in  an  evil  man  is  very 
much  like  the  love  that  God  has  for  the  world.  The 
greatest  revelation  of  God's  love  is  this  passage  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans :  "  God  commendeth  His  own 
love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners, 
Christ  died  for  us."  ^  This  love  for  a  world  of  sinners 
was  a  real  love,  and  it  led  to  the  work  of  Redemption. 
God's  love  for  sinful  men  is  the  motive  for  all  He  is 
doing  to  save  them,  including  the  mission  of  Christ 
to  the  world,  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
revelation  of  His  will  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the 
whole  system  of  influences  by  which  true  religion 
has  been  kept  alive  in  the  world,  and  its  progress 
secured.  God  saw  something  in  sinful  men  which 
He  could  love.     We  may  apply  the  text  to  express 

1  Romans  v.  8. 


296      THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL   MEN. 

the  feelings  of  our  Heavenly  Father  towards  the 
whole  world,  with  all  its  selfishness,  and  cruelty,  and 
idolatry,  and  blasphemy.  As  He  looked  down  from 
heaven  upon  the  children  of  men:  the  Father,  be- 
holding them,  loved  them.  This  love  for  those  who 
are  sinful,  but  who  have  the  capacities  for  a  better 
life,  is  always  set  forth  in  the  Bible  as  the  starting- 
point  of  God's  work  of  Redemption.  It  is  the  love 
not  of  devils,  who  are  utterly  bad,  but  of  men,  who 
have  something  remaining  of  the  image  of  God: 
the  sense  of  right,  of  obligation  to  do  right;  a 
sense  of  guilt  and  condemnation  when  they  do 
wrong,  with  some  desire  for  a  higher  and  better 
life,  —  a  desire  that  leads  them  to  form  resolutions 
of  amendment;  and  a  desire  to  gain  eternal  life. 
And  yet,  these  whom  God  loves  are  really  going 
wrong,  in  spite  of  their  convictions  of  duty,  and 
their  aspirations  for  eternal  life.  They  are  seeking 
the  lower  instead  of  the  higher.  They  love  the 
world  and  its  pleasures.  They  love  themselves  more 
than  they  love  God.  But  God  loved  evil  men,  be- 
cause He  saw  in  them  capacities  for  the  life  of 
angels. 

God  did  not  love  sinful  men  just  as  He  loved  the 
holy  angels.  Jesus,  beholding  the  young  man  who 
inquired,  "  What  must  I  do  that  I  may  inherit  eternal 
life?"  did  not  love  him  just  as  He  loved  John,  the  be- 
loved disciple,  nor  as  He  loved  Mary,  the  sister  of 
Lazarus,  who  sat  at  His  feet,  and  heard  His  word. 
And  yet  He  loved  him,  although  He  knew  that  he 
was  a  sinful  man. 

God's  love  for  evil  men  is  very  different  from  His 


THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL   MEN.      297 

justice.  If  we  had  our  deserts  at  the  hand  of  God, 
He  would  not  have  sent  the  Well  Beloved  Son  to  re- 
deem us.  The  justice  of  God  would  lead  Him  to  deal 
with  us  according  to  our  sins.  It  is  not  justice,  but 
love,  and  mercy,  and  grace,  that  provide  salvation. 
It  is  that  sort  of  love  which  is  commended  to  us 
by  St.  Paul  under  the  name  of  charity.  It  is  the 
charity  that  "  suffereth  long  and  is  kind ;  "  that 
^'hopeth  all  things,"  "  endureth  all  things;"  that 
*'  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,"  and  is  greater  than  faith 
and  hope.^ 

The  best  illustration  of  it  in  human  life  is  the  love 
of  parents  for  their  children.  They  love  them  partly 
because  they  are  their  own.  This  love  gives  them  an 
insight  into  their  best  qualities.  A  mother  will  see 
good  in  her  wayward  boy,  when  no  one  else  can  see 
it.  Her  love  has  power  to  draw  out  the  better  side 
of  his  nature.  It  is  not  so  easy  for  him  to  give  him- 
self up  to  an  evil  life  so  long  as  his  mother  continues 
to  love  him.  The  boy  will  show  more  tenderness  to 
her,  and  more  desire  to  do  right,  than  he  shows  to 
any  one  else.  If  anything  can  reclaim  him  from 
evil,  it  is  the  fact  that  his  mother  continues  to  love 
him.  There  is  a  redeeming  power  in  a  mother's 
love  for  a  wayward  boy,  because  her  love  draws  him 
towards  her  own  goodness. 

The  love  of  God  for  sinful  men  is  like  this,  only  it 
is  free  from  its  weakness  and  its  blindness.  It  is  the 
love  of  a  real  Father ;  a  love  for  us  as  those  made  in 
His  image,  and  created  by  His  power;  a  love  that 
"suffereth  long  and  is  kind;"   that  sees  the   good, 

^  I  Corinthians  xiii.  4-13. 


298      THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL   MEN. 

even  when  it  is  overborne  by  evil ;  a  love  that  leads 
Him  to  use  all  the  best  means  to  reclaim  us  from  sin, 
and  to  help  us  in  doing  good. 

II. 

In  the  second  place,  this  love  which  Jesus  had  for 
the  young  man  who  came  to  Him,  is  not  only  the 
expression  of  the  love  of  our  Father  for  the  sinful 
world,  but  it  is  also  the  example  and  pattern  for  all 
His  disciples.  For,  certainly,  the  mind  that  was  in 
Christ  should  be  also  in  us.^  The  New  Testament 
goes  further,  w^hen  it  says,  "  If  any  man  hath  not 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His."^  The  won- 
derful hopefulness  which  Jesus  manifested,  that  good 
may  come  even  from  evil  men,  even  from  publicans 
and  sinners,  —  this  hopefulness  that  good  will  come 
out  of  that  which  is  now  evil,  should  be  manifested 
by  the  Christian  church.  As  our  Saviour  sought 
out  the  neglected  classes  in  His  ministry,  —  those  for 
whom  the  Pharisees  had  no  hope,  —  so  we  should 
cherish  an  interest  in  the  sinful  men  who  are  about 
us;  and  not  only  in  them,  but  in  the  heathen  who 
dwell  in  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Our  Lord  cherished  these  expectations  of  good 
from  evil  men,  because  He  knew  so  well  the  redemp- 
tive power  of  the  agencies  which  God  is  using,  and 
also  because  He  was  able  to  read  the  thoughts  and 
motives  of  men.  We  can  judge  of  our  fellow-men 
by  what  we  know  of  ourselves.  We  never  do  wrong 
without   some    sort   of  excuse    to    our   consciences, 

1  Philippians  ii.  5.  ^  Romans  viii.  9. 


THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL   MEN.      299 

which  are  always  making  their  silent  protest  against 
the  wrong.  Those  whom  we  condemn  for  the  evil 
they  are  doing  are  very  much  like  us.  They  are 
living  mixed  lives.  Sometimes  the  evil  they  do 
they  allow  not.  They  have  many  thoughts  of  doing 
good,  but  the  influences  about  them  choke  the  good 
thoughts.  If  we  were  as  charitable  in  our  judgments 
of  others  as  we  are  in  judging  ourselves,  we  should 
not  cast  them  off.  The  fact  is  that  in  our  neighbors, 
as  in  us,  evil  exists  with  the  good.  It  is  possible  that 
we  are  not  making  a  better  use  of  our  opportunities 
than  our  fellow-men  are  making  of  theirs.  There 
are  very  often  tender  sympathies,  and  kind  thoughts, 
and  resolutions  to  lead  better  lives,  —  recollections  of 
the  teachings  they  received  years  ago,  —  in  those 
who  seem  to  be  given  up  to  vice  and  crime.  The 
Saviour,  beholding  these  survivals  of  the  image  of 
God,  loves  evil  men ;  and  if  we  enter  into  His  spirit, 
we  shall  share  His  love. 

Our  Lord  came  to  the  world  not  to  judge  men,  but 
to  save  men.  There  is  no  salvation  for  the  guilty  in 
strict  justice.  And  so  He  says  to  us,  "Judge  not, 
that  ye  be  not  judged."  ^  Whenever  the  spirit  of  this 
world,  with  its  selfish,  hardening  quality,  takes  pos- 
session of  us,  we  cease  to  live  as  the  helpers  and 
saviours  of  our  fellow-men,  and  we  estimate  the  pos- 
sibilities of  repentance  for  the  sinful  according  to  the 
maxims  of  this  world.  We  are  tempted  to  live  for 
ourselves  alone,  seeking  to  build  up  the  divine  life 
within  us,  when  we  ought  to  be  sharing  what  we  have 
of  God's  grace  and  truth  with  our  fellow-men.     The 

1  St.  Matthew  vii.  i. 


300     THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN  EVIL  MEN. 

nearer  we  come  to  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ,  the 
more  we  shall  have  of  His  grace.  The  joy  which 
this  world  cannot  give  comes  to  those  who  enter  into 
the  love  which  led  the  Redeemer  to  bear  the  sins  of 
the  world  that  the  world  might  be  saved. 

III. 

One  reason  why  we  should  cherish  these  expecta- 
tions of  good  concerning  those  who  are  now  evil  is 
that  this  will  prepare  7is  to  do  them  good.  This  was 
the  secret  of  the  power  that  Jesus  had  over  the  sinful. 
He  came  on  the  mission  of  Redemption,  because  He 
knew  so  well  the  possibilities  of  improvement  for 
men.  His  hopeful  love  led  Him  to  seek  and  to  save 
the  lost.  He  ate  with  publicans  and  sinners,  as  one 
means  of  showing  His  sympathy,  and  of  awakening 
their  hopes.  He  did  not  repel  the  woman  who 
washed  His  feet  with  her  tears,  and  wiped  them  with 
the  hairs  of  her  head,  though  He  knew  that  she  was 
a  sinner  of  such  a  sort  as  makes  a  woman  an  outcast. 
There  was  no  pollution  for  Him  in  her  touch,  because 
He  saw,  in  her  stained  and  polluted  soul,  the  possi- 
bility of  a  great  repentance  and  a  great  salvation. 
He  was  able  to  discern  the  image  of  God  in  her.  As 
the  diamond  is  rough  and  unpromising  when  it  is 
taken  from  the  mine,  and  needs  to  be  skilfully  worked 
that  its  brilliancy  may  appear,  so  the  souls  that  have 
been  debased  and  dimmed  by  the  defilements  of  sin 
need  to  be  cleansed  and  brightened  by  the  spirit  of 
God,  that  the  image  of  God  may  shine  out. 

We  are  to  bear  in  mind  that  in  all  souls  not  utterly 


THE  APPRECIATION  OF   GOOD    IN   EVIL   MEN.      301 

dead,  there  is  some  desire  for  a  better  life.  There  is 
something  to  which  the  gospel  appeals.  It  meets 
the  deepest  wants.  This  is  the  ground  of  hope  in 
preaching.  The  truth  always  secures  some  conver- 
sions in  any  congregation  where  it  is  preached  in  the 
spirit  of  sympathy  and  hope,  in  any  part  of  the  world. 
For  there  is  a  witness  for  God  in  every  man,  which 
holds  him  responsible  for  his  actions,  and  urges  him 
to  follow  the  better  way.  If  the  secret  thoughts  of 
people  who  are  outside  the  churches  could  be  known, 
they  would  give  great  encouragement  to  those  who 
are  trying  to  do  them  good.  Many  men  who  have 
given  themselves  up  to  intemperance  and  vice,  feel 
their  bondage,  and  cherish  the  hope  that  at  some 
time  they  may  escape  from  it.  But  long  experience 
in  sin  has  confirmed  their  evil  habits ;  their  compan- 
ions are  as  wicked  as  themselves,  and  the  failure  of 
their  efforts  to  reform  has  disheartened  them.  Some 
such  men  are  looking  to  the  churches  with  the  hope 
that  some  help  will  come  from  them.  We  have  the 
testimony  of  some  such  men,  that,  at  the  time  when 
they  were  very  far  from  a  good  life,  they  clung  to 
the  expectation  that  some  influences  from  Christians 
would  reach  them.  There  have  been  instances  of 
such  people  hovering  about  the  churches,  looking 
in,  perhaps,  at  the  evening  service,  with  a  desire  to 
gain  that  spiritual  experience  which  they  were  sure 
that  true  Christians  had.  And  this  has  been  the 
means  of  their  salvation. 

The  success  of  the  preaching  of  Christ  and  of  His 
Apostles  to  the  publicans  and  sinners  of  their  time, 
confirms  this  view.     The  history  of  missions  to  the 


302      THE   APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL  MEN. 

lower  races  confirms  it.  The  success  of  the  Wesleyan 
preachers  in  England  a  century  ago  confirms  it. 
The  work  which  the  Salvation  Army  is  doing  among 
people  who  had  seemed  to  be  given  up  to  unbelief 
and  sin,  shows  how  much  can  be  accomplished  by 
those  who  will  go  to  evil  men  with  sympathy,  and 
confidence  in  the  regenerating  power  of  the  truth 
and  of  the  Spirit.  More  recently,  the  Volunteers,  in 
this  country,  have  been  testing  the  power  of  the 
simple  gospel  to  rescue  the  criminals  in  our  prisons. 
Those  who  are  content  to  find  their  field  of  labor 
among  publicans  and  sinners  have  very  often  found 
a  richer  field  than  those  who  have  preached  to  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  of  their  time. 


IV. 

The  church  certainly  has  a  mission  to  those  who 
are  not  far  from  the  Kingdom.  It  has  a  mission  to 
its  own  children,  and  to  those  who  come  from  week 
to  week  to  attend  religious  services.  It  has  always 
been  the  method  of  God's  economy  to  gather  His 
people  into  the  religious  community,  with  its  vast 
resources  of  Christian  knowledge  and  consecrated 
wealth,  and  to  continue  this  community  through  the 
generations  as  the  source  and  reservoir  of  spiritual 
power.  The  light  is  to  go  out  from  this  source  to 
those  who  are  outside,  —  to  the  great  masses  of  the 
unsaved.  The  highest  work  of  the  church  is,  like 
that  of  the  Master,  "to  seek  and  save  the  lost." 
But  there  are  times  when  the  churches  seem,  to  those 
who  are  outside,  to  be  selfish  and  exclusive,  their 


THE  APPRECIATION   OF   GOOD   IN   EVIL   MEN.      303 

members  more  anxious  to  save  their  own  souls  than 
to  save  their  fellow-men ;   rejoicing  to  read  their 

"  title  clear 
To  mansions  in  the  skies," 

but  unmindful  of  the  condition  of  the  unsaved  about 
them. 

That  impression  is  in  many  instances  unjust,  but  it 
is  a  real  obstacle  to  the  best  work  of  the  churches. 
That  impression  is  one  cause  of  the  increasing  neglect 
of  public  worship.  People  say :  If  they  were  in  ear- 
nest they  would  talk  with  us  about  a  religious  experi- 
ence, and  invite  us  to  go  with  them  to  the  church. 
The  same  feeling  is  shown  by  the  gratitude  which 
they  express  to  those  who  talk  with  them  earnestly 
about  their  salvation. 

The  community  is  always  interested  in  the  religious 
tone  and  spirit  of  the  church.  Whenever  there  is  an 
increase  of  earnestness  among  Christians  the  congre- 
gation begins  to  fill  up.  Let  it  be  understood  that 
there  is  an  awakening  among  believers,  greater  fer- 
vency in  prayer,  with  an  evident  desire  for  the  con- 
version of  men,  and  those  who  are  outside  will  come 
in.  People  will  go  away  from  the  places  that  only 
gratify  their  taste,  but  they  will  crowd  the  churches 
where  Christians  meet  them  with  the  sympathy  that 
springs  from  a  genuine  desire  for  their  salvation. 
For  the  men  of  the  world  are  not  all  unbelievers. 
They  remember  the  truths  they  learned  in  earlier 
years.  These  have  followed  them  through  the  changes 
of  their  lives.  Unconsciously  to  themselves,  many 
of  them  are  hoping  that  at  some  time  they  shall  be 


304     THE  APPRECIATION   OF  GOOD   IN   EVIL  MEN. 

better  than  they  now  are.  When  they  see  that  we 
really  care  for  their  souls,  they  are  likely  to  respond 
to  our  invitations,  and  to  come  with  us  to  the  Saviour 
of  lost  men. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  we  have  no  assurance  that 
all  will  accept  the  free  offers  of  the  gospel.  The  young 
man  who  came  to  Jesus  went  away  to  his  great  pos- 
sessions. Even  the  love  of  Christ  did  not  always 
induce  those  whom  He  met  to  follow  Him.  The 
obstacle  is  not  that  God's  interest  in  man  is  limited,^ 
but  that  God  leaves  man  free  to  accept  or  to  reject  the 
offers  of  His  grace.  If  a  man  is  able  to  reject  those 
offers  for  one  day,  it  is  possible  that  he  may  reject 
them  for  all  days.  The  experience  of  our  Saviour 
and  of  all  His  followers  shows  that  when  the  best 
possible  means  are  used  with  evil  men,  they  may  be 
in  vain.  All  the  more  important,  is  it,  therefore,  to 
use  the  best  means  in  the  best  possible  way.  The 
work  of  Redemption  has  always  been  limited  by  the 
unbelief  of  those  to  whom  the  great  salvation  has 
been  offered.  But  as  the  love  of  Christ  constrained 
the  earliest  disciples  to  follow  Him,  so,  in  these  latest 
times,  the  power  of  our  religion  has  been  the  power 
of  love.  It  is  the  love  of  God  that  is  drawing  the 
world  unto  Him.  We  must  manifest  a  love  like  His, 
if  we  would  have  a  part  in  His  work. 

1  Immortality  and  the  New  Theodicy,  Rev.  George  A.  Gordon,  D.D. 


XIX. 

THE   LIFE  BEYOND  THE   CLOUD. 


XIX. 

THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

And  when  he  had  said  these  things,  as  they  were  looking^ 
he  was  taken  up  ;  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight. 

Acts  i.  9. 

This  is  Easter  Sunday,  —  the  Sunday  of  the  resur- 
rection of  our  Lord.  It  was  fitting  that  the  spring, 
which  comes  so  much  earHer  in  Judaea  than  in  our 
colder  latitude,  should  have  been  the  season  of  His 
resurrection.  When  nature  begins  to  renew  its  life, 
with  the  returning  sun,  at  the  time  of  the  vernal 
equinox,  it  has  been  thought  to  be  a  type  of  the 
renewal  of  life  after  death.  That  was  the  season, 
beyond  all  doubt,  when  the  Son  of  man  arose  from 
the  dead,  and  became  the  first  fruits  of  them  that 
slept.  By  His  resurrection  He  gave  us  the  assurance 
of  our  resurrection,  and  taught  us  something  of  its 
nature,  for  the  Apostle  tells  us  that  our  *'  bodies  shall 
be  fashioned  like  unto  His  glorious  body."  ^ 


L 

We  can  think  of  some  things  without  the  Bibhy 
zvhich  make  it  probable  that  there  is  another  life. 
The  present  life  is  so  incomplete,  and  so  unsatisfac- 

1  Philippians  iii.  21. 


308  THE   LIFE  BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

tory,  that  we  are  Inclined  to  believe  that  there  is  some 
higher  sphere  for  us,  in  which  our  powers  will  develop 
more  freely,  and  in  which  we  can  come  nearer  the 
fruition  of  our  hopes  than  we  can  come  here.  The 
state  of  the  world,  and  the  hard  conditions  under 
which  life  goes  on,  suggest  the  hope  that  the  Creator 
will  provide  for  us  a  better  life  than  this.  Besides, 
there  seems  to  be  in  our  nature  an  instinctive  desire 
for  continued  existence,  and  an  expectation  of  it. 
This  tendency  is  so  decided,  and  so  permanent,  that, 
speaking  broadly,  one  may  say  that  all  men,  in  all 
stages  of  social  life,  and  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  have 
believed  in  a  life  beyond  the  present.  Some  of  the 
earliest  philosophers  have  set  forth  the  reasons  for 
this  belief  with  great  clearness  and  force.  The  Phaedo 
of  Plato,  written  three  centuries  and  a  half  before  the 
coming  of  Christ,  contains  a  wonderful  argument  for 
immortality,  drawn  from  the  nature  of  the  soul. 
Plato  attempts  to  bring  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life 
into  connection  with  his  theory  of  knowledge.^  The 
belief  in  immortality  has  shown  its  power  not  only  in 
the  best  Hterature  of  the  world,  but  especially  in  the 
religious  rites  of  all  nations.  The  motives  connected 
with  this  belief  have  always  had  a  large  place  in  the 
life  of  man.  The  belief  in  another  life,  which  has 
appeared  so  generally  among  the  beliefs  of  men, 
seems  to  have  come  from  an  original  tendency  in  the 
soul,  or  from  some  knowledge  which  God  gave  to 
man  in  His  earliest  revelation. 

1  The  Phaedo,  in  Jowett's  Plato,  vol  i.  429-499.  See  a  full  state- 
ment in  The  Witness  to  Immortality,  by  Dr.  George  A.  Gordon, 
PP-  135-179- 


THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD.  309 


II. 

But  the  most  of  us  need  to  have  sojnething  added  to 
these  natural  beliefs.  We  cannot  help  the  wish  that 
those  who  have  gone  from  this  hfe  could  come  back 
and  tell  us  what  the^  have  experienced.  Death  is  a 
mystery.  It  comes  on  gradually,  or  suddenly.  The 
processes  of  physical  life  cease.  The  mind  loses  the 
power  to  communicate  with  us.  The  friend  who  is 
dying  speaks  to  us  up  to  a  certain  moment,  and  then 
he  speaks  no  more.  He  hears  no  more,  so  far  as  we 
know.  We  say,  the  life  and  the  spirit  are  gone.  We 
hope  this  is  not  the  end.  We  think  that  if  a  man  die 
he  will  live  again.  Men  have  been  so  confident  of  it 
that  they  have  said  that  they  knew  it.  But  it  is  a 
great  help  to  this  hope,  that  Christ  came  to  bring 
life  and  incorruption  to  light  through  the  gospel.^ 

The  life  of  Christ  in  this  world  is  itself  a  proof  of 
the  reality  of  a  spiritual  world,  for  He  came  out  of 
that  world  into  this.  Our  existence  begins  here,  so 
far  as  we  know.  We  can  tell  how  many  years  we 
have  had  a  being.  But  Jesus  said,  ''  Before  Abraham 
was,  I  am."''^  He  spoke  naturally  and  familiarly  of 
His  pre-existence.  If  we  are  to  believe  His  most 
explicit  statements,  we  must  believe  that  He  came 
forth  from  the  Father  to  save  lost  men.  Back  of  His 
earthly  Hfe  was  His  life  in  Heaven.  He  discoursed  as 
one  who  had  grown  familiar  with  the  eternal  world, 
and  was  able  to  reveal  its  mysteries.  He  speaks 
again  and  again  to  His  Father,  who  dwelleth  in  the 
1  2  Timothy  i.  10.  2  gt.  John  viii.  58. 


3IO  THE   LIFE  BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

unseen  world,  and  receives  answers  in  articulate 
words.  "  Father,  glorify  Thy  name,"  He  said ;  and 
**  there  came  a  voice  out  of  Heaven,  saying,  I  have 
both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again."  ^  There 
appeared  unto  Him,  on  the  mount,  Moses  and  Elijah, 
coming  directly  out  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  they 
talked  with  Him  of  His  death  at  Jerusalem.  *'  I  have 
accomplished  the  work  which  thou  hast  given  me  to 
do,"  he  said,  ''  but  now  I  come  to  thee."  ^  When 
Jesus  told  His  disciples  that  He  was  going  away, 
Peter  said,  '*  Lord,  whither  goest  thou  ?  "  Jesus  an- 
swered, "  Whither  I  go  thou  canst  not  follow  me  now, 
but  thou  shalt  follow  afterwards."  ^  It  is  often  a  com- 
fort and  help  to  one  who  is  troubled  to  realize  the 
existence  of  the  spiritual  world,  that,  although  de- 
parted spirits  cannot  come  back  to  us,  we  have  had 
in  this  world  this  wonderful  Being,  who  has  told  us, 
with  all  the  impressiveness  that  His  character  gives 
to  His  words,  that  He  had  Himself  existed  in  that 
world,  and  that  He  was  going  back  into  it,  and  that 
He  would  draw  after  Him  all  His  disciples,  that  they 
might  be  with  Him  in  the  Father's  house. 


III. 

Tke  7'esurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead  is 
the  crowning  proof  to  ns  that  there  is  another  life.  He 
had  told  His  disciples  so  often  that  He  should  be 
raised  the  third  day  that  the  prediction  was  known 
even  to  His  enemies,  and  they  devised  a  plan  to  pre- 

1  St.  John  xii.  28.  ^  st_  John  xvii.  4  and  13. 

2  St.  John  xiii.  36. 


THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD.  311 

vent  His  disciples  from  coming  by  night  and  stealing 
His  body.  The  evidence  for  His  resurrection  is  as 
decisive  as  the  evidence  for  any  other  fact  in  history. 
If  there  be  anything  certain  in  the  teachings  of  the 
New  Testament  concerning  the  wonderful  Being  who 
lived  in  Judaea  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  who 
was  crucified  by  Pontius  Pilate,  this  is  certain :  that 
He  rose  from  the  grave  to  a  conscious  and  personal 
life,  and  that,  in  due  time.  He  went  back  into  that 
spiritual  world  from  which  He  had  come.  In  thus 
rising  from  the  dead,  and  ascending  to  Heaven,  He 
has  taught  us  that  there  is  for  us  a  conscious  hfe 
after  death. 

The  ascension  of  our  Lord  to  Heaven  has  always 
been  regarded  as  the  culminating  point  iii  His  resur- 
rection from  the  dead.  He  showed  Himself  alive  unto 
His  disciples,  being  seen  of  them  for  six  weeks,  in 
various  places,  and  under  a  variety  of  circumstances, 
in  order  to  furnish  to  them  decisive  proofs  that  He 
had  come  back  from  the  grave  to  a  real  and  con- 
scious life  among  men,  but  these  manifestations  would 
have  defeated  their  purpose  if  they  had  continued  too 
long.  He  designed  to  furnish  in  His  own  person,  a 
proof  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  so  that  we 
should  have  the  assurance  of  a  life  to  come ;  but 
having  furnished  that  proof,  it  was  also  necessary  for 
Him  to  pass  from  the  sight  of  men  into  the  spiritual 
world.  Two  of  the  Gospels  tell  us  that  He  did  so. 
St.  Mark  says  that  **  He  was  received  up  into  Heaven, 
and  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God."  ^     St.  Luke 

1  St.  Mark  xvi.  19. 


312  THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

says,  in  his  Gospel,  "  It  came  to  pass,  while  He  blessed 
them.  He  was  parted  from  them,  and  was  carried  up 
into  Heaven."  ^  In  the  Acts,  he  tells  us  more  particu- 
larly, that  it  was  forty  days  after  His  resurrection, 
and  that  the  ascension  was  witnessed  by  His  apostles 
whom  He  had  chosen,  —  that  as  "  they  were  looking 
He  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received  Him  out  of 
their  sight.  And  while  they  were  looking  steadfastly 
into  Heaven  as  He  went,  behold,  two  men  stood  by 
them  in  white  apparel :  which  also  said.  Ye  men  of 
Galilee,  why  stand  ye  looking  into  Heaven?  This 
Jesus,  which  was  received  up  from  you  into  Heaven, 
shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  beheld  Him  going 
into  Heaven."  ^  The  ascension  is  also  referred  to  in 
several  passages  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  At  one 
time  Jesus  said  to  His  disciples,  "  Doth  this  cause 
you  to  stumble?  What,  then,  if  ye  should  behold 
the  Son  of  man  ascending  where  He  was  before?  "^ 
He  said  to  Mary  Magdalene,  ''Touch  me  not;  for  I 
am  not  yet  ascended  unto  the  Father."^  And  St. 
Paul  also  tells  us,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
that  Christ  ascended  up  "  far  above  all  the  heavens, 
that  He  might  fill  all  things."^  In  the  Epistle  to 
Timothy,  he  says  that  "  He  who  was  manifested  in 
the  flesh,"  was  ''received  up  into  glory."  ^  So  that  the 
evidence  for  the  ascension  of  our  Lord  to  Heaven  is 
contained  in  every  part  of  the  New  Testament.  He 
spoke  of  it  to  His  disciples  before  it  took  place; 
they  testify  to  the  ascension  as  a  fact  within  their 

1  St.  Luke  xxiv.  51.  ^  St.  John  xx.  17. 

2  Acts  i.  9-1 1.  ^  Ephesians  iv.  10. 

3  St.  John  vi.  62.  ^  I  Tim.  iii.  16. 


THE   LIFE  BEYOND   THE   CLOUD.  313 

own  knowledge ;  it  was  used  by  them  in  their  writ- 
ings as  one  of  the  facts  well  known  and  authenticated ; 
and  it  is  referred  to  as  an  accomplished  fact,  in  the 
book  of  Revelation  ;  for  St.  John  saw  the  Son  of  man 
actually  in  Heaven.  This  doctrine  of  the  ascension 
is  also  stated  in  the  creeds  of  the  early  church,  and 
it  has  been  accepted  as  one  of  the  great  facts  in  re- 
gard to  the  risen  Lord  by  the  Christian  church  in 
every  age. 

IV. 

In  connection  with  the  ascension,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  cloud  which  ''  received  Him  oiU  of  their  sight!' 
The  ascension  to  Heaven  changed  very  much  the  rela- 
tions of  the  disciples  to  their  Lord  and  Master.  We 
should  expect  such  a  change  from  the  words  of 
Christ  before  He  was  put  to  death.  '*  Whither  I  go," 
He  said  to  His  disciples,  ''  ye  cannot  come."  ^  In 
bringing  immortality  to  hght,  it  was  not  His  purpose 
to  disclose  all  the  mysteries  of  the  world  to  come. 

The  disciples  had  been  very  famiHar  with  Him. 
They  had  been  able  to  go  to  Him  with  all  their  per- 
plexities. They  had  been  instructed  by  His  wisdom, 
and  comforted  by  His  gracious  words.  When  He 
was  laid  in  the  tomb  there  was  an  interruption  of 
their  communion,  but  it  was  only  for  a  few  hours. 
He  came  back  to  them,  and  talked  with  them  in  the  old 
way,  at  intervals,  for  six  weeks.  He  was  giving  them 
His  blessing  when  He  was  taken  up  into  Heaven. 
But  that  was  His  last  word.  They  saw  Him  begin 
the  ascension,  and  then,  as  they  were  looking,  the 

1  St,  John  viii.  21. 


314  THE   LIFE  BEYOND  THE   CLOUD. 

cloud  was  interposed.  They  did  not  see  Him  finish 
the  ascension. 

One  might  have  thought  that,  in  giving  the  final 
proof  of  immortality,  He  would  have  made  some  new 
disclosure  of  the  other  world.  But  He  did  not  make 
it.  No  message  came  from  Him  to  assure  them  of 
His  arrival.  The  cloud  concealed  Him  from  their 
sight.  His  words  of  blessing,  before  He  was  taken 
up,  were  the  last  words  they  would  hear  from  Him 
while  they  remained  in  this  world.  How  often,  in  the 
years  of  labor  and  of  persecution,  the  disciples  must 
have  longed  to  see,  though  but  for  an  hour,  their 
vanished  Lord.  But  He  never  came  back  to  them. 
No  word  from  His  lips  reached  their  ears.  It  was, 
indeed,  granted  to  St.  John,  when  he  was  in  "  the  isle 
that  is  called  Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God,  and  the 
testimony  of  Jesus,"  to  see  "  a  door  opened  in 
Heaven,"  ^  and  to  hear  the  songs  of  the  redeemed. 
But  that  was  only  in  a  vision.  It  was  as  if  he  had 
dreamed  of  seeing  his  Lord,  rather  than  as  if  he  had 
actually  seen  Him  after  the  old  manner. 

St.  Paul,  also,  was  caught  up  into  Paradise, 
*'  whether  in  the  body,  or  out  of  the  body,"  we  do 
not  know;  and  he  "  heard  unspeakable  words,  which 
it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter."  ^  So  that  no  know- 
ledge has  come  to  us  from  beyond  the  cloud  in  conse- 
quence of  his  experiences.  At  some  other  times,  some 
of  the  Apostles  had  communications  from  Heaven, 
but  they  related  to  some  matters  of  practical  service, 
and  gave  no  information  in  respect  to  the  secrets  of 
the  spiritual  world.     We  also  enjoy  the  privilege  of 

1  Revelation  i.  9,  iv.  i.  ^  2  Corinthians  xii.  1-4. 


THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD.  315 

prayer,  and  of  communion  with  God,  and  much  of  the 
joy  of  our  Hfe  depends  upon  this  communion. 

But,  after  all,  the  mysterious  wall  of  death  cuts  us 
off  from  direct  and  personal  knowledge  of  the  spir- 
itual world.  Up  to  that  wall,  one  has  said,  we  are 
every  one  of  us  moving.  Through  a  narrow  door 
our  friends,  one  by  one,  are  passing,  —  and  the  door 
closes  instantly,  so  that  we  have  not  a  single  word 
after  they  cross  its  portals.^  We  catch  the  last  word, 
the  last  whisper,  the  last  sigh,  of  the  earthly  life, 
and  then  there  is  silence  unbroken  through  all  the 
years  that  remain.  It  may  be  the  nearest  friend  on 
earth  that  passes  through  the  door,  the  one  who 
shared  all  our  thoughts  and  all  our  affections.  We 
go  on  together  up  to  the  last  moment  of  conscious 
Hfe,  and  then  the  curtain  falls.  We  are  on  this  side, 
and  the  spirit  is  on  the  other  side ;  and  no  prayers 
can  bring  to  us  even  a  word  from  the  departed.  We 
linger  close  up  to  the  separating  wall,  and  long  with 
unspeakable  desire  for  some  message  from  the  van- 
ished spirit,  some  knowledge  of  its  experiences ;  but 
it  is  in  vain.  No  one  comes  back  through  the 
closed  door.  If  we  have  neglected  to  speak  any 
word  of  sympathy,  or  of  appreciation,  any  farewell 
word,  it  is  too  late  to  speak  it  now.  The  dull,  cold 
ear  of  death  cannot  hear,  and  the  spirit  has  passed 
beyond  the  cloud. 

There  are  some  who  tell  us  that  they  cannot  believe 
in  immortality  unless  they  ca7t  have  some  comninnica- 
tion  from  their  departed  friends.     These  reject  all  the 
1  Sermons  by  Phillips  Brooks,  p.  216. 


3l6  THE   LIFE  BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

evidence  for  another  life  unless  that  evidence  can  be 
confirmed  by  their  senses.  But  the  evidence  from 
the  teaching  of  Christ  concerning  the  spiritual  world 
appeals  to  our  faith.  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 
time,  yet  we  believe  in  Him.  Jesus  did  not  tell  us 
that  we  should  have  a  vision  of  angels,  or  that  the 
door  would  be  opened,  and  that  our  friends  would 
come  and  go  through  the  open  door.  All  His  teach- 
ing seems  to  show  that  there  are  two  worlds :  the 
world  in  which  He  was  while  He  dwelt  among  men, 
and  the  other  world  into  which  He  passed  when  the 
cloud  received  Him  out  of  the  sight  of  His  disciples. 
When  we  have  done  with  the  discipline  which  He 
appoints  for  us  in  this  world,  He  will  come  for  us, 
and  will  receive  us  into  the  place  which  He  has  pre- 
pared for  us. 

There  have  been  any  number  of  superstitions  with 
respect  to  omens,  and  dreams,  and  signs,  given  by 
some  ghostly  power.  It  has  taken  centuries  for  men 
to  outgrow  the  superstitions  connected  with  witch- 
craft. That  part  of  our  nature  which  fits  us  for  re- 
ligion may  be  led  very  easily  to  sympathize  with  such 
notions  as  these.  The  step  from  faith  to  superstition 
has  always  been  an  easy  step  for  men  to  take.  Our 
elder  poets  have  used  these  notions  with  singular 
skill  and  power.  But  the  day  has  gone  by  when 
sensible  Christians  expect  their  departed  friends  to 
appear  to  them,  like  the  ghost  in  Hamlet.  The  light 
of  true  religion  is  dissipating  the  crude  notions  con- 
cerning omens,  and  dreams,  and  witches,  and  ghosts. 
Christians  have  learned  that  the  best  consolations 
come   from  other  sources  than  these. 


THE   LIFE  BEYOND   THE   CLOUD.  317 


V, 

And  yet,  the  Christian  doctrine  of  immortality 
teaches  that  there  are  very  close  connections  between 
the  other  world  and  this.  God  rules  in  both  worlds, 
and  He  governs  this  world  with  a  benevolent  purpose 
to  prepare  us  for  Heaven.  The  law  of  sympathy  is 
the  law  of  the  universe,  for  God  is  love.  "  There  is 
joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth."  ^  It  is  safe  to  infer  that  the 
angels  have  some  communications  from  this  world. 
We  read,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  of  the  "  great 
cloud  of  witnesses "  who  compass  us  about.^  It 
seems  to  be  the  object  of  that  passage  to  draw  a 
motive  for  Christian  fidelity  from  the  assurance  that 
those  in  Heaven  are  watching  our  progress.  These 
texts  seem  to  teach  that  there  is  some  real  connection 
between  the  two  worlds.  But  it  is  not  safe  to  infer  that 
those  in  Heaven  know  everything  that  goes  on  among 
men.  They  are  not  omniscient.  No  one  of  them  can 
be  in  two  places  at  the  same  time.  They  cannot  know 
all  about  all  their  friends,  and  still  enter  into  all  the 
employments  of  Heaven.  There  must  be  some  Hmita- 
tions  to  the  knowledge  which  our  friends  in  Heaven 
can  have  of  our  lives.  The  separating  w^all  cuts  off 
very  much  that  our  fancy  would  incline  us  to  expect. 

Sometimes  we  are  told  that  the  spirits  of  the  de- 
parted are  present  with  us,  though  unseen,  and  that 
they  accompany  us  as  guardian  angels,  and  are  often 
able  to  protect  us  from  harm,  and  to  hold  us  back  from 
1  St.  Luke  XV.  10.  "  Hebrews  xii.  r. 


3l8  THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

wrong-doing.  One  should  speak  with  reserve  with  re- 
spect to  such  a  theory,  for  we  know  too  Httle  of  the 
other  Ufe  to  quahfy  us  to  speak  confidently.  Protestant 
Christians  will  not  be  inclined  to  accept  the  Romish 
doctrine  of  the  invocation  of  saints,  and  angels,  or  of 
the  Virgin  Mary.  The  Lord  has  not  taught  us  to  look 
for  protection  to  any  one  in  Heaven  but  to  Himself. 

We  should  bear  in  mind  that  we  are  not  the  only 
objects  of  interest  to  our  friends  in  Heaven.  When  the 
Lord  takes  them  away  it  is  because  they  have  finished 
their  work  in  this  world.  If  the  other  world  is  as 
attractive  as  our  Saviour  represents  it  to  be,  these 
friends  must  enter  at  once  upon  a  larger  and  more 
spiritual  existence.  They  will  be  attracted  at  once 
towards  the  Redeemer  Himself,  who  is  the  light  and 
the  glory  of  that  world. 

There  are  also  many  dear  friends  who  have  gone 
from  earth  before  them,  whom  they  will  be  especially 
anxious  to  see.  They  will  enter  with  them  into  the 
employments  of  the  world  of  light  and  of  praise.  It 
is  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  they  will  make  it 
their  only  purpose  to  watch  over  the  friends  they 
have  left  in  this  world.  They  certainly  will  not  for- 
get them ;  but  it  is  not  certain  that  they  are  able  to 
do  anything  for  their  help  and  consolation.  There  is 
not  a  word  in  the  New  Testament  which  encourages 
us  to  invoke  their  aid.  Nor  should  we  derive  much 
satisfaction  from  knowing  that  the  spirit  of  a  dear 
friend  had  left  the  associations  of  Heaven,  in  order  to 
follow  our  poor  earthly  life,  while  it  was  unable  to 
help  us,  or  to  speak  to  us  a  single  word.  The  mere 
presence  of  a  spirit,  with  which  one  could  hold  no 


THE   LIFE  BEYOND   THE   CLOUD.  319 

converse,  which  one  could  not  even  see  or  touch,  — 
the  simple  presence,  without  sight,  or  words,  or  signs 
of  recognition,  —  would  it  not  be  an  aggravation  of 
our  sorrow,  rather  than  a  relief  ? 

God  might  have  revealed  a  great  deal  more  con- 
cerning the  world  to  come,  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
believe  that  His  reserve  is  due  to  the  fact  that  too 
much  knowledge  would  unfit  us  for  the  duties  of  the 
present.  He  is  training  us,  in  this  life,  for  the  spiritual 
world.  We  are  in  the  school  of  Christ.  He  does  not 
want  us  to  become  dissatisfied  with  our  school,  and 
to  be  longing  to  escape  from  our  discipline. 

Besides,  the  friends  who  have  left  us  have  finished 
their  discipHne.  Some  of  them  have  passed  through 
the  furnace  of  affliction.  They  have  shown  the  per- 
fect work  of  patience  and  faith  that  is  an  anchor  to 
the  soul.  They  do  not  need  to  turn  back  to  the 
school.  God  has  something  new  for  us  in  each 
change  in  our  experience.  It  is  not  His  way  to  tell 
us  beforehand  the  things  He  has  in  reserve  for  us. 
He  will  not  make  Heaven  so  common  that  its  pleas- 
ures will  be  cheap.  "  There  remaineth  a  rest  for 
the  people  of  God."  We  should  be  thankful  that 
**  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God 
hath  prepared  for  those  that  love  Him."  ^ 

I.  We  may  be  very  sure,  therefore,  from 

THE  TEACHINGS  OF  OUR  LORD,  THAT  THERE  IS 
ANOTHER  LIFE.  The  doctrine  of  immortaHty  under- 
hes  all  His  greatest  and  most  serious  words.     It  is 

2  I  Cor.  ii.  9.  [a.  v.] 


320  THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

presupposed  in  His  own  pre-existcnce,  and  in  His 
resurrection  and  ascension.  It  is  fundamental  in  the 
Christian  Faith. 

2.  We  shall  do  well,  however,  to  accept  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  separation  between  the  earthly  and  the 
heavenly  life.  We  cannot  see  beyond  the  cloud. 
Death  effects  a  separation  that  is  real  and  lasting. 
Our  Christian  friends  have  done  for  us  all  that  it  is 
permitted  them  to  do.  They  have  had  the  "  last  of 
earth,"  and  have  been  advanced  to  a  higher  stage 
of  existence.  They  have  passed,  each  one  alone, 
through  the  door  that  opens  into  the  hereafter. 
Faith  enables  us  to  leave  them  confidently  to  the 
loving  care  of  the  Saviour.  He  will  do  for  them  all 
that  they  need.  As  surely  as  this  Easter  morning 
has  dawned  upon  us,  so  surely  dpes  the  hght  of 
Heaven  dawn  upon  them. 

3.  We  know  less  than  we  desire  of  their  employ- 
ments.  We  cannot  know,  certainly,  how  their  minds 
will  work.  They  will  look  forward  as  well  as  back- 
ward. God  has  some  better  things  for  them  than 
they  knew  in  the  earthly  life.  Yet  it  is  not  the 
teaching  of  the  Bible  that  they  will  forget  those  they 
have  loved  in  this  world,  any  more  than  we  shall  for- 
get  them.  It  is  probable  that  they  will  know  some- 
thing of  the  things  that  befall  us,  though  we  can 
know  absolutely  nothing  of  the  things  that  befall 
them.  This  intelligence  may  pass  from  earth  to 
Heaven.  It  does  not  pass,  so  far  as  we  know,  from 
Heaven  to  earth. 

4.  Is  It  right  for  us  to  pray  for  those  who  have  gone 
from  earth  ?     Most  Protestants  would  say  no.     The 


THE  LIFE  BEYOND  THE  CLOUD.       32 1 

Romanists  have  carried  the  practice  of  praying  for 
the  dead  to  such  an  extent  that  it  has  fallen  under 
the  condemnation  of  those  who  believe,  as  we  do, 
that  the  limit  of  probation  is  passed  before  one  leaves 
this  world.  And  yet,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
good  reason  why  we  should  cease  praying  for  a  dear 
friend  who  has  gone  to  Heaven,  when  we  have  been 
praying  for  that  friend  every  day  for  almost  all  our 
lives.  Prayer  is  our  highest  privilege.  We  love  to 
pray  for  our  dearest  kindred.  We  follow  them  with 
our  prayers,  even  to  the  gates  of  death.  Why  may 
we  not  be  permitted  to  commend  them  still  to 
their  Father  and  to  our  Father,  to  their  God  and  to 
our  God?  I  do  not  see  that  it  is  forbidden  in  the 
New  Testament.  I  find  traces  of  such  a  practice  in 
some  parts  of  the  history  of  the  church.  It  is  true, 
the  Saviour  will,  for  His  own  love,  watch  over  them, 
without  our  prayers.  But  we  pray  for  the  Hving  who 
are  the  beloved  of  the  Lord.  Why  must  we  cease  to 
pray  for  these  same  loved  and  unforgotten  children 
of  God,  when  they  have  passed  beyond  our  sight? 

5.  Last  of  all:  it  is  our  privilege  to  look  forward 
with  confidence  to  meeting  those  Christian  friends 
whom  God  has  taken  from  us.  The  cloud  has  re- 
ceived them  out  of  our  sight,  and  there  must  be 
years  of  silence,  and  patient  waiting.  But,  by  and 
by,  we  also  shall  pass  beyond  the  cloud,  and,  on  the 
other  side,  the  mysteries  of  the  spiritual  world  will  be 
revealed.  We  shall  meet  the  friends  of  long  ago,  and 
shall  enter  with  them  into  the  joy  of  our  Lord. 

How  strong  and  tender  the  motive  to  live  worthy 


322  THE   LIFE   BEYOND   THE   CLOUD. 

of  them ;  to  do  nothing,  in  the  years  that  remain, 
that  will  unfit  us  for  a  closer  companionship  with 
them.  In  order  that  we  may  live  worthy  of  them, 
we  need  to  cultivate  the  knowledge  we  have  of  the 
unseen  world,  and  to  set  our  affection  on  things 
above.  The  Christian  world  of  our  time  needs,  as 
never  before,  the  strength  and  steadiness  that  come 
from  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  truths  that  re- 
late to  immortality.  We  should  accustom  ourselves 
to  send  our  thoughts  forward  to  the  home  we  expect 
to  reach  at  the  end  of  life's  journey.  We  should  be 
diligent  to  finish  the  work  which  our  Lord  has  given 
us  to  do. 


And  to  His  name,  as  is  most  due,  be  praise 
and  glory  in  the  church,  world  without 
END,  Amen. 


THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND 
AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

By  EZRA   HOYT   BYINGTON,  D.D., 

JEemtiEr  of  tte  American  .Societa  of  (Ci^urci)  l^igtorg. 

With  an  Introduction  by  Alexander  McKenzie,  D.D.,  Minister 
of  the  First  Church  in  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 

One  volume,  8vo,  cloth.    Three  Illustrations.    Price,  $2.00. 


My  summer  vacation  has  been  much  enriched  by  the  admirable  volume 
on  •'  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England."  It  treats  the  large  sub- 
ject in  a  way  so  just,  thoughtful,  and  accurate,  and  is  written  with  such 
pleasant  and  persuasive  picturesqueness,  that  I  know  nothing  comparable 
to  it  in  the  same  line  of  study,  and  the  happy  impression  of  it  will  long 
continue  with  me.  — Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

I  have  lately  finished  reading  "  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  Eng- 
land," and  write  to  express  my  thanks  for  the  pleasure  it  has  given  me.  I 
have  especially  enjoyed  the  chapters  on  William  Pynchon,  and  Robert 
Breck,  and  The  Pilgrim  —  or  Puritan,  which  ?  Altogether  and  in  detail 
the  book  is  a  boon  to  one  who,  on  account  of  my  pursuits  and  the  necessi- 
ties of  my  life,  can  only  take  what  is  given  on  such  Unes,  and  who  for  this 
reason  loves  to  find  the  guidance  of  one  who  inspires  so  much  confidence 
as  this  writer  does.  —  Ex-Governor  D.  H.  Chamberlain,  LL.D.,  40  and 
42  Wall  Street,  New  York. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  and  permanently  valuable  volume.  Its  style 
also  is  clear  and  vigorous,  and  is  eminently  readable  from  cover  to  cover. 
One  of  the  most  delightful  productions  of  the  year.  —  The  Congrega- 
tio7ialist,  Boston. 

"  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England  "  is  an  exceedingly  attrac- 
tive volume  upon  Puritan  thought  and  Puritan  life.  The  book  is  always 
concrete.  The  narrative  is  full  of  vitality  from  beginning  to  end.  —  The 
Outlook,  New  York. 

This  book  marks,  in  a  certain  sense,  an  epoch  in  the  study  of  the 
English  and  the  American  Puritans.  On  the  whole,  we  consider  it,  as  it 
stands  on  our  shelf  full  of  works  devoted  to  the  subject,  the  best  for  one 
who  wishes  reality  rather  than  either  fervid  and  favorable  sentiment  or 
hostile  prejudice.  —  Rev.  William  E.  Griffis,  D.D.,  in  The  Critic, 
New  York. 

This  book  is  every  way  a  worthy  and  helpful  one.  The  style  of  the 
author  is  so  simple  and  direct,  the  statements  he  makes  are  so  condensed 
and  yet  so  ample,  his  own  enthusiasm  in  writing  is  so  evident  and  conta- 
gious, and  he  has  the  whole  business  in  which  he  is  engaged  so  well  in 
hand,  that  when  the  first  pages  of  the  book  are  read  it  will  be  hard  not  to 
go  straight  on  till  the  last  page  is  finished.  —  Rev.  F.  A.  Noble,  D.D., 
in  The  Advance,  Chicago. 

The  book  is  an  excellent  series  of  pictures  in  literary  tapestry,  showing 
the  main  episodes  and  streams  of  tendency  in  English  and  New  England 
Puritanism. —  The  New  World  (quarterly),  Boston. 

This  is  one  of  those  large  and  important  books  with  which  the  Congre- 
gational ministers  of  New  England  have  never  ceased  to  illustrate  the 
history  of   their  churches  and  their  country.      Dr.   Byington's   style  is 


attractive ;  his  treatment  of  the  points  at  issue  is  candid  and  intelligent. 
He  makes  no  attempt  to  conceal  or  minimize  the  defects  of  the  generation, 
and  carries  his  readers  with  him  in  the  conviction  that  the  men  of  virhom  he 
was  writing  were  too  large,  too  high-minded,  and  too  far  in  advance  of 
their  times  to  submit  to  apologetic  treatment  without  spoiling  the  portrait. 
NeTJu  York  Independent. 

The  style  of  this  book  is  clear,  fresh,  and  vivid.  There  is  not  a  dull 
line  in  the  book.  It  is  free  from  exaggeration,  without  acrimony,  without 
sting.  Since  Dr.  Dexter  died,  no  abler  treatment  of  the  Puritan  period 
has  been  published.  —  The  Boston  Herald. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  historical  books  that  have  been  published 
this  year,  and  in  its  special  field  the  most  important  since  Douglas  Camp- 
bell's work  of  "The  Puritan  in  Holland,  England,  and  America."  —  New 
York  Sun. 

Dr.  Byington  is  interesting  in  narrative,  judicious  in  statement,  and  fair 
m  seeking  to  present  controversial  points.  —  Christian  Register,  Boston. 

The  book  will  be  treated  as  an  authority,  the  more  so  as  the  author  has 
himself  consulted  a  long  list  of  authorities.  He  has  written  with  marked 
ability,  with  conscientious  care,  and  eminent  faithfulness.  Such  a  book  is 
more  than  valuable  ;  it  is  invaluable.  —  New  York  Observer. 

Dr.  Byington  has  done  a  splendid  work  in  this  volume,  which  entitles 
him  to  the  gratitude  of  every  loyal  son  and  daughter  of  New  England.  — 
Boston  Home  Journal. 

This  handsome  octavo  delights  the  eyes  with  its  large  print,  short  para- 
graphs, and  shorter  sentences.  The  chapters  on  the  early  ministers  and  on 
Church  life  are  wonderfully  accurate  and  vivid.  —  Sunday  School  Times, 
Philadelphia. 

This  is  a  notable  book,  and  worthy  of  a  wide  reading.  —  The  Golden 
Rule,  Boston. 

The  author  has  done  good  service  in  gathering  a  large  amount  of  fresh 
and  fascinating  material,  and  his  book  should  find  its  way  into  the  hands 
of  every  member  of  our  free  churches.  —  The  Christian  World,  London. 

Dr.  Byington  throws  new  light  upon  the  social  and  religious  side  of  the 
history  of  these  New  England  fathers.  He  has  produced  a  most  interest- 
ing book,  written  with  painstaking  accuracy  and  in  a  clear  and  vigorous 
style.  —  London  Chronicle. 

Dr.  Byington  has  produced  a  really  great  book;  has  made  a  positive 
?.nd  valuable  contribution  to  the  historical  literature  of  the  Puritan  in 
England,  among  the  Dutch,  and  in  New  Y^n^Tca^.  — Journal  of  Educa- 
tion, Boston. 

It  is  not  too  strong  an  assertion  that  Dr.  Byington' s  work  will  stand  as 
the  historical  masterpiece  of  New  England  and  its  people.  —  The  Bridget. 

The  first  feeling  of  the  reader  of  this  robust  volume  is  that  its  author 
has  brought  to  his  task  a  peculiar  fitness  for  it,  and  that  in  a  field  already 
well  covered  by  histories  not  a  few  he  has  explored  with  good  success. 
The  volume  shows  the  zest  of  sympathetic  inquiry,  the  ripeness  of  mature 
thought,  and  the  strength  of  wide  and  well-balanced  study  of  other  and 
related  departments  of  thought.  —  The  Bibliotheca  Sacra  (quarterly), 
Oberlin,  Ohio. 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers.     Mailed,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price, 
by  the  Publishers, 

ROBERTS   BROTHERS,  Boston. 

S.  LOW,  MARSTON  &  CO.,  LTD.,  LONDON. 


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